


A person who has never played MCSM writes a story about MCSM

by HarmonyParty



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Minecraft Story Mode
Genre: Adventure, Minecraft, Minecraft: Story Mode, this was written on a whim
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-28
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2020-09-28 07:37:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 86,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20422316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HarmonyParty/pseuds/HarmonyParty
Summary: A fanfic of a game that I've only seen via youtube let's plays. Things will probably (definitely!) be wrong!~~~Jesse and a friend of his explore a jungle temple, and they end up getting far more than what they bargained for.





	1. Chapter 1

A person who has never played Minecraft Story writes a story about Minecraft Story Mode

“This is stupid.” Olivia muttered under her breath.

“Says you, I think this is the best thing we’ve done in a while!” Jesse said happily as he carefully maneuvered his way through the jungle’s thick leaves. The air was warm and thick enough to cut through, the area carried a scent similar to freshly cut grass; the vibrant greens complimented the cool and calming indigo night sky.

“We’ve saved multiple worlds from multiple dimensions multiple times. A jungle temple is pretty mediocre compared to what we’ve done before.” she grumbled while yawning, upset that her friend convinced her to join him on this little exploration so late, the regret and drowsiness catching up to her and slowing her down more and more. 

“Look out for the spiderwebs!”

“The wha-” Olivia stopped dead in her tracks and sputtered, feeling a thin, slicky string wrap around her face. She shook her head violently while trying to pull off the practically invisible materialy on her; she gagged, thinking she got it in her mouth, though it could easily be her hair or imagination. Jesse jumped and quickly rushed over to her to help get the web off of her. 

“Okay, all off!” He assured her, sighing with relief. Olivia still felt the spider’s web’s presence on her and shuttered. 

“That’s it, I’m going back home.” The girl huffed as she turned around, only to have Jesse’s hand promptly grab her shoulder. 

“We’re only a few feet away, after we go in and look we can leave right away, I promise!” Jesse pleaded as he motioned his arm north, a faint green glow coming from an area that couldn’t have been no more than a few meters away. She gave her friend a look and asked  
“Why did you have to bring me along?” 

“Well,” Jesse began without skipping a beat, “I read about these temples having little lever puzzles and redstone tactics that are super ancient and I thought you’d like checking that out!” 

Olivia blinked a few times, staring at Jesse for a moment. His eyes glowed with joy and his smile didn’t twitch. 

Sighing, she began walking again, “Well, let’s go, the temple won’t explore itself.”  
Jesse mouthed a “Yesss!” as he walked beside her.

A few minutes of walking in silence--with the sounds of the jungle making the scenario a little less awkward--they knew they were getting closer and closer to their location, the saturated emerald green light practically blinding them, forcing Jesse to shield his eyes; Olivia placed the goggles on her hat over her eyes. They could only make out bits of the temple, such as it’s medieval-esque exterior. Old, worn down flags with strange symbols--that didn’t look like anything the two recognized--decorated the walls and the large, moss covered cedar door, which had its steel handles removed.  
It was quite small in size, the huge, gaping hole in the roof made it appear even smaller as the trees’ thick leaves and tangled vines consumed sections of the temple.

“Probably monsters in there.” Olivia said under her breath with uncertainty, looking up a bit in an attempt to see more of the ancient building. 

Jesse drew out his sword, “That’s never stopped us before!” 

As they approached the massive door, chunks of the building and trees managed to block out the vibrant light, giving the two friends time to have their eyes adjust to the darkness once more and be able to properly observe the area.

“Man, time has not been kind place, has it?” Olivia huffed as she studied the structure. Glass was broken, blocks were missing, arrows covered in cobwebs stuck out from the wall, it felt as if it was all going to collapse on them in any given second.

“Gotta wonder what the inside looks like.” Jesse reached out for one of the damaged door knobs and pushed in, only to have the door itself fall forward and shatter into hundreds of tiny pieces. They cringed as the booming sound of the crash echoed throughout the abandoned temple, afraid they had awoken any sleeping creatures. Slowly creeping their way in, the floorboards creaking under their weight, they kept an eye out for any traps, monsters, or the source of the green glow.

“How did you find this in the first place?” the girl whispered as she clenched her fists, the inside of the area looking like a haunted mansion. Spider webs, dimly lit torches, broken weapons, and even chunks of armor were scattered about, a strong, metallic smell took over, causing Oliva to gag. Broken levers and redstone smeared on the ground, which was more of a shade of brown than it’s usual dark red were placed in seemingly random patterns.  
Despite what little was left of the room they were in, there was still a soft, moss covered carpet on the ground, leading to a fancy but worn down chair. The few tables and chairs were flipped over, vases were covered in dust or shattered, and paintings on the wall were torn or possibly burnt gave Olivia the impression that they were walking in the remains of a throne room. A throne room where a battle must’ve taken place.

“I was walking around yesterday during lunch and kind of... Ran into it. I was excited to explore it but I didn’t really want to do it alone, so I went back home to tell everyone about it but then I forgot, but- Woah! Look at that!” Jesse ran towards a corner of the room, he stared at a broken plank of wood where the blinding light was coming from.  
“All this light from such a tiny opening...” he pulled the plank with a little force, a loud popping sound caused them to jump. Olivia took a few quick breaths, collecting herself.  
Jesse pulled some more, a new scent began coming from underneath the floor, or maybe it was the jungle itself, but it was a sweet, pollen-like smell, feeling much more welcoming than the overpowered rustic one.

“Mind lending me a hand?” 

“Oh, sure!” Olivia crouched down beside her friend and grabbed the old wood tightly, feeling small splinters stabbing her fingers. She bit the bottom of her lip, uneasy, she couldn’t shake off the thought that something was wrong with this place; opening her mouth to say something, the plank, much longer than they thought it was, flew off the poorly bolted floor and flug across the room. Olivia looked back at the wreckage, Jesse stared at the now bigger hole in the floor, more light pouring out and filling the area.

“Hey-” they both began at the same time, they paused and exchanged embarrassed glances. 

“You go first,” Jesse insisted,

Olivia cleared her throat, “Uhm... Don’t you think this place is... Bizarre?”

“It’s a temple in the middle of some jungle, of course it’s going to be bizarre!” 

“No no!” she shook her head, “I’ve never BEEN inside one of these before, but I’ve seen pictures of jungle temples before, and while they’re small, none of them were shaped like like THIS, none of them had flags or some weird, glowy green stuff coming out of it!. Plus! There were no mobs in here, or surrounding it! Don’t you find that a little weird?”

“... Maybe we... Lucked out?” Jesse shrugged awkwardly, Olivia sputtered in response.

“You think it’s ‘lucky’ that no mobs happened to appear in a DARK and ABANDONED temple in the middle of the NIGHT in a thick, spider web infested jungle?!” she waved her arms about. 

There was a moment of silence, both were trying to figure out what to say next. Jesse thought for a few moments, “I don’t understand it either, but...” he motions towards the floor, “I think if we find the source of the light, we might get some answers.”

Jesse slipped one of his legs into the hole, avoiding any jagged wood or crooked nails sticking out, “There’s some old staircase down here. Looks a bit unstable but I’m sure as long as we’re careful, we’ll be okay.”  
He sucked in his gut as he slid his way in, Olivia could hear him fall face first into the floor below them. Sighing and shaking her head, she squeezed through the hole and fell right on top of Jesse, who let out a small “Oof!” 

“Sorry, I thought you already moved!” she frantically got up and adjusted her hat, helping her friend up.  
“Nah, it’s okay. Let’s go!” the boy said as he tiptoed as fast as he could, his small steps echoing throughout the stone stairs each time his foot touched the ground. Two grey walls were on each side of the staircase, which gave the already thin stairwell feel even smaller. The pollen smell was getting stronger, almost making it hard to breathe in. The girl felt as if she was suffocating.  
Tightening the strap around her goggles, she squinted her eyes to see how far ahead Jesse was, but a thick layer of fog devoured the area.

“Great, I’m blind AND can barely breathe-” Olivia let out a yelp she felt her foot touch the floor, thinking that for a second, she had missed a step. Catching her balance, she inhaled a hefty amount of the sickeningly sweet air, getting more and more nauseas by the second. Maybe the metallic smell from early was a blessing in disguise.

“You okay?” she heard her friend ask, before she could respond, Jesse turned and pointed to something in front of them, “Do you see that?”

Olivia looked up.

It was just a long, green, foggy hallway. 

“Yeah. More walking down this creepy hallway. Amazing.” 

“No! There’s something else, come on!” Jesse grabbed her hand and ran to the other end of the hall, Olivia stumbling behind, missing every other step. At first, all she could see was a thick layer of fog and the unholy green, but the farther they kept going, the more she could make out the dead end. 

No, it wasn’t a deadend. 

It looked like some bizarre painting that she couldn’t properly make out.

They kept running.

It wasn’t a painting.

“A portal...?” Olivia’s eyebrows shot up as they slowly came to a halt. It wasn’t the usual obsidian one she was used to, the blocks that were used appeared to be... Lapis? The entrance was emerald green and swirled about peacefully, it’s consistency reminding her of clouds in some odd way; it’d release small gusts of wind that’d brush against her face. At first, Olivia thought her eyes were deceiving her, maybe the pollen aroma was finally getting to her. 

Sticking one hand through, Jesse shivered.

“A bit colder than I thought it would be.” he chuckled, giving her a small smile with a hesitant pair of eyes. “You coming?” 

Olivia stared into the portal’s entrance, the wind swirling around her. Who knows where this would lead to. It could be paradise. It could be some terrifying monstrous kingdom. Or it could be an abyss. Gulping down her fears, she nodded, and with a confident voice she said “Let’s go.” 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The two leapt out of the portal and into the new world. There was no green light that consumed the area. The portal was no longer active.

‘That’s gonna be a problem...’ Jesse thought to himself as he observed his surroundings. They appeared to be in another hallway, but this one was much more refined. The floors were made of oak and spruce wood, instead of the mossy, stone one they walked on before, the walls were noticeably wider, the ceiling was higher as well; Olivia felt much more at ease, more space and no stupid oder she had to constantly breathe in. 

Turning to her left, she saw the walls were made up of stone bricks. They were still in tact and sturdy, but she also noticed carvings. It was hard to make out at first, they were quite thin, and the dark hallway didn’t help with that either, but they were odd swirls, figures, and shapes that vaguely reminded her of words, they were carefully engraved into the blocks. 

“Jesse, you see this?” 

Jesse walked to her side and brought himself closer to the wall.  
“Wish I could read that, it’d be cool to know a bit of information about this world we’re in.”  
Olivia nodded in agreement. 

“There’s another staircase, maybe that leads to a way out of here.” Jesse said, looking ahead. Without wasting any time, they raced their way up the stairs, their eyes passing by hundreds upon hundreds of symbols on the wall. It seemed to tell a vague story, from what Olivia could make out. Maybe this old place is a library, or has a room full of books. Anything. There was no telling what lies ahead. She was praying that there’d be something she’d recognize when they’d reached the top of the stairs. Thinking about it, being lost in some unknown world, with a chance of being stuck there forever didn’t sound too appealing to her. Yes, they’ve been through similar adventures, but it was still a fear that crept in the back of her head. 

“Did you say something?” Jesse asked, as the spacious stairs came to the end. He hunched over, panting, Olivia leaned against one of many pillars, also trying to catch her breath.  
“Uh, no?” she said between gasps.  
“I don’t think I even heard another voice.” 

Jesse groaned and threw his hands up, “Great, not even five minutes into this new world and I’m already going insane, huh?” 

Before Olivia could comment about their new location or Jesse’s sanity, she heard something. Jesse did too. Footsteps, and a very, VERY muffled voice. The friends looked down the hall decorated hall, which wasn’t too long, in fact, the door was only several feet away. 

“What should we do??” Olivia whisper shouted, hearing the footsteps getting closer and closer.

“Hide behind the pillar, draw out your weapon.” he mouthed some words, but she still got the message. But a weapon... She didn’t have one on her. She did have a lever, however. Hiding behind the pillar with Jesse parallel to her, she clutched the lever tightly in her hand. Anything is a weapon if you’re skilled enough.

The talking got louder, it almost sounded like arguing, it was hard to tell, but the sound of the doorknob jiggled, causing the two of them to tense up.

Swinging open, Jesse peeked his head out from behind his little hiding spot and gasped.

“Aiden?!”


	2. Chapter 2

Jesse slapped his hand over his mouth and held his breath, frozen solid. Olivia remained absolutely still behind the pillar, dead silent, but her eyes were wide and filled with a mixture of anger and fear. Sure, Jesse might’ve whispered Aiden’s name, but the hollow hallway echoed the name, bouncing it off its walls. The talking from before came to a halt; nobody made a sound.

“Who’s there?!” he heard Aiden shout.

That was the real Aiden; same brown, slick back hair, same leather jacket, same slightly gruffy voice. Same Aiden. No problem. Jesse had defeated Aiden before, back when he had taken over Sky City, and since then Jesse had grown stronger. But Aiden might have too.  
Regardless, he had Olivia with him to back him up in case anything went wrong. Jesse motioned his friend to stay where she was; nodding, Olivia pressed herself against the wall as much as she could, attempting to make herself more hidden. Gripping his iron sword tightly with his sweaty hands, he stepped out into the middle of the dimly lit hall to be met with a seemingly shocked Aiden; a girl with baggy clothes and an oversized beanie covered her face, making it nearly impossible to identify her.

“Jesse! I should’ve known you’d be here.” Aiden stiffened his posture, hands curled into fists as he glared at the boy in overalls who returned the same look back.

“Good to see you again, Aiden.” Jesse spoke in a sarcastic tone, taking a few steps forward, the sword by his side. Aiden remained still. “How did you get here?” 

“I was about to ask you the same thing.” Aiden raised his eyebrows as he moved closer Jesse, unblinking eyes locked onto his curly haired rival. Moving his arms in front of himself slowly, almost in a cautious manner, Aiden said “Just come back with us,” he turned towards the girl then back to Jesse, “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“That sounds like a terrible lie.”

“If you wanna do this the hard way, you’ll be fighting a losing battle, so let’s just do it the easy way.” Aiden walked up to Jesse, and it was during those few seconds when Jesse remembered just how tall Aiden was compared to him, at least a good few inches more, towering over him.  
Jesse swung his sword back, ready to hit Aiden with full force, but when he brought it down, all he heard was a loud “CLANG”. The girl in baggy clothes deflected his attack with a diamond axe, throwing Jesse off guard. Aiden nodded to the girl, who, not even looking up, returned a nod back, “Thanks, Rose.”

Grabbing Jesse’s hand tightly while Rose snatched the sword out of his grip, “Hey!” Jesse spat as Aiden hoisted him over his shoulders, clutching onto his legs tightly, which Jesse responded to by continuously hitting his back in an attempt to make him let go; that didn’t seem to phase the tall man. “Olivia!” Jesse called out, Rose and Aiden turned around to see his friend immediately run out from behind a pillar with a lever in her hand, holding it like a weapon. Aiden’s eyes slowly widened, the color drained from his face as he dropped Jesse, who fell to the ground with a loud thud and approached Olivia, who was taking small steps away from the tall, with a look of complete shock on him.  
Olivia didn’t hesitate for another moment and bashed the base of the lever into the side of his head, but his expression didn’t change. She made another attempt and hit his chest; the wood of the lever let out a loud snapping sound and broke in half. Jesse hoisted himself up from the ground to run to his friend’s side, but was promptly shoved and held back down by Rose, who was also staring at Olivia with bewildered eyes, not giving Jesse a second thought.

“You’re here--It’s--” Aiden’s eyes lit up as he placed his hand on her shoulder, gripping it tightly to confirm his suspicions, he then pulled Olivia into a tight hug, causing Olivia to experience a whole new level of uncomfortableness and confusion she didn’t think was possible. “You’re actually here!” he sounded overjoyed, but wariness could be heard.

“Did you do this?” 

Jesse snapped his head towards Rose, whose head was still facing Aiden but her eyes were on Jesse. “Do what?” he asked, trying to blow the strands of his curly hair out of the way.

“Did you or your little buddies bring Olivia back? Or found her, or performed some sort of ritual-”

“What- No! She came with me through some portal and we ended up here!” Jesse explained, noticing he was getting short of breath with Rose’s weight on him. 

“Portal??” Aiden’s smile faded, he appeared much more serious as he carefully set Olivia down, who quickly took a few big steps away from him. “Yeah, that portal!” Jesse pointed down the hall and at the staircase, where the deactivated portal stood. Rose got off of the boy and walked next to Aiden’s side, staring at the gateway silently. No one said anything at first.

Aiden finally broke the silence, “Did you activate it?” 

“No, I just kind of... Found some weird, green glow coming from a jungle temple and brought Olivia with me, next thing you know it--we go through it and end up here!” Jesse waved his arms about. Rose scoffed, “You just expect us to believe that you came from the other side?! Aiden, this sounds like one of his plans-”

“No, that... Makes some sense.” Aiden took a few steps down the stairs and stared at the inactive portal, “There’s no way Jesse would’ve gotten into this place without getting caught, it’s heavily guarded, someone would’ve caught him, or at the very least, inform us.”  
Aiden turned and locked eyes with Olivia for a moment and motioned towards her and, almost in a whisper, said “Not to mention she’s come back.” 

“Jesse escaped from his cell then suddenly a portal from the shrine activates all in one day! Don’t you find that a little suspicious? He could've found a secret entrance, or entered through the ceiling, or-” Rose raised her voice, Aiden furrowed his brows and said “I do find it suspicious, but we can’t just jump to conclusions, we need answers.”

“We have a suspect right here!” she pointed at Jesse, she got on the tip of her toes, invading Aiden’s personal space. “We’ll take the two of them back to the city and question them, if Jesse’s telling the truth, then that means someone here activated the portal. Worst case is he’s lying and we’ll put him back in his cell.” Aiden said. 

Jesse didn’t really know what he could say to possibly contribute or help the situation. He didn’t even have the slightest clue on what the two were arguing about, but he couldn’t help but feel a bit on edge. First, they wound up in some weird place, then one of his old enemies appears out of nowhere, and now he has no idea where they’re at or what’s going on. Jesse opened his mouth to speak, but Olivia ended up speaking instead.  
“So what exactly is going on here??” Aiden and Rose’s quarrel came to a halt, “What is this place? Do you know anything about it? What do you know about the portal? You guys seem to know what’s happening but,” she glimpsed at Jesse, “It’s safe to say we’re both pretty lost.”

Rose and Aiden both looked at each other; Aiden walked up to Olivia, “If I asked you two to come with us to our town, would you trust us?”  
“We’d ask you questions, and you’d ask us some back. Then everyone’s happy.” Rose commented in an almost brittle tone. She crossed her arms and gave Jesse a look that could kill him in an instant. Olivia remained quiet for a moment and thought; she turned to Jesse, who didn’t look so certain about the option.

“If you want me to be honest; no.” 

Aiden nodded understandingly, his mouth twitched and sadness flickered in his eyes for a moment. Olivia let out a quick huff, “But I don’t think we have a better option. Lead the way.”  
Giving her a small smile that only lasted a second, he stood tall and looked down on the duo, “Alright, this is going to sound weird, but if you want to go to our city back in one piece, you’re gonna have to...” there was a short pause as Aiden hesitated for a moment, “Change.”  
Jesse blinked, “What do you mean by ‘change’?”  
“Just--you know--change your clothes? You don’t have to strip yourselves or something like that, maybe Olivia could take her hat off, or you two could trade shirts, heck, you can borrow my jacket or any of Rose’s big clothes--if she lets you--she wears it over her regular clothes.”  
Rose clutched onto her oversized, long sleeved shirt in a defensive manner, glaring at her friend and then at the duo.

“And WHY do we need to change?” Olivia asked,

“Well,” Aiden sucked in air through his teeth, “I’d have to give you a really long explanation for that question, but long story short: They’d freak out if they saw you,” he turned towards Jesse “But they’d freak out even MORE if they saw YOU.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first draft of this chapter was REALLY different (n kinda cruddy gfhdgsf) so I'm glad I took my time and decided to rewrite it, I'm much happier with how it turned out! ;v;  
Hope you're all liking it so far! <3


	3. Chapter 3

Jesse shuffled around awkwardly in a layer of new clothes over his usual outfit. He and Olivia ended up swapping a few accessories around as well; Jesse was wearing Olivia’s hat, Aiden gave his leather jacket to Olivia, which was so big on her that it completely consumed her hands. Aiden suggested that Rose should give up her large hoodie for Jesse, but she refused, saying that would be “awkward and weird”, so instead she gave him her extra set of pants--as if that were somehow less weird--revealing a pair of shorts underneath and long socks that stopped an inch before meeting her knees.  
Olivia undid her pigtails and ruffled her hair around, giving it a messier look, allowing it to hide her eyes but also limit her vision. Rose and Aiden were guiding the duo out of the shrine and back to their town. When they had left the hallway where their first encounter was, Jesse wasn’t expecting the shrine to be so... Complex. So many twist and turns, old traps, big walls with more strange carvings in them, Jesse swore they had passed at least twenty rooms, some with doors completely broken down, yet Aiden just kept saying “Turn left, right, left...” as if it were second nature.

Olivia just kept her eyes on the ground, trying to pay attention to where she was walking, not wanting to bump into any walls. Rose was also behind the two, and though she hadn’t said a word yet, Jesse could feel her eyes on the back of his head like daggers. It was already clear that she wasn’t too fond of him for whatever reason, and though he wanted to know why, Jesse decided to wait till they got back to whatever town they were heading to.  
No one really said anything to each other, only Aiden’s direction helped keep the atmosphere from becoming excruciatingly awkward as they continued to walk through what seemed to be the remains of a library, at least, that’s what Jesse believed it was. This room was the smallest but the messiest out of everything else they’ve seen so far; there were only 4 bookshelves, but most were broken into hundreds of pieces or had huge, black markings from--possibly--a fire. Books were sprawled about the floor, which Jesse found himself tripping over occasionally. Most books were opened widely, pages torn and spines ruined, some were reduced to piles of ashes. There were two desks with a thick layer of dust and blotches of old, dried ink staining their tops and the walls and floors around them that decorated the flats of the ancient desks. Was there a fight here? Or did someone attempt to get rid of something?

“Okay, we’re almost out of here.” Jesse snapped his attention back to Aiden, who was looking ahead at the busted wooden door ahead. “Just one more room and we’re out of here.” 

“You said the place was heavily guarded, right?” Olivia questioned, barely looking up from the floor. Aiden nodded, not that Olivia could see it.

Rose spoke up, “Yep. Recently there have been threats to activate the portals that were made hundreds of years ago, everyone thought it was just some stupid rumor but...” she glared back at Jesse again, “Turns out they weren’t joking around.” 

“Won’t the guards notice you’re missing some clothes?” Jesse asked, looking back at Aiden, “Nah, it’s almost dark out, plus the guards were paying more attention to who was coming in and out, not what they were wearing.” Aiden grabbed the doorknob and jiggled it. Nothing. He proceeded to turn the knob with more force and pushed against the door, grunting, “This stupid door is the only one that gets jammed!” he swiftly kicked the bottom before it swung open, a chunk of wood flying out and hitting the wall with a loud “CRACK”. 

“This place is so old, I’m surprised half of the things in here haven’t rotted away already.” Rose commented.

“So what’s this a shrine of exactly? Who made it?” Jesse asked as he follow Aiden,  
“Are you telling me that YOU of all people don’t know where we’re at?” Rose’s question drenched in sarcasm.  
“How the heck am I supposed to know about a place I’ve never been to before?” Jesse shot back with an attitude while entering a much larger room than the little library they in before; what seemed like well over a hundred chairs were placed in large circles, facing the very center of the room, which was stained with an unknown, rusty colored substance, but besides that, the room was lacking color, only consisting of hues of grays and dusty blues. There was a huge wall near the door they just came through, which had the largest and probably the most identifiable carving he had seen throughout the entire shrine.

It was the head of a man.

He was looking down upon the many chairs that sat before him, but due to his lack of pupils, it felt as if he was watching over the whole room. Stalking the group’s every move. Jesse could feel the man’s presence.

“Who’s the-Who’s that?” Jesse pointed at the wall as he adjusted the hat on his head, Olivia moved the hair out of her face to look at the carving, she shuddered, “Dunno, but whoever made this really captured this person’s... Eyes.”  
Jesse hadn’t noticed it right away due to how dim the area was, but upon closer inspection, all the man really had were his empty eyes. Sure, there were his eyebrows and he did have hair, but that really didn’t contribute much. Jesse was about to ask again, in case either Aiden or Rose hadn’t catch his question, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rose whispering something into her friend’s ear a good several feet away, all while eyeing Jesse suspiciously. Aiden stepped away and shook his head, simply saying “No, he couldn’t; let’s just wait until we get back home.”  
Rose quickly put a finger over her mouth, “Not so loud!” she mouthed, immediately sneaking a peek at Jesse, who, along with Olivia, were watching them. 

Rolling his eyes in a more playful manner towards his friend, Aiden waved both Olivia and Jesse to come over.

“So here’s the plan,” Aiden began,

“There are a ton of guards out there, if you decide to walk out right now, you’d be immediately taken to jail and bombarded with questions and , since it’s prohibited to go here-”

“Wait--then why are you guys in here?” Olivia interrupted.

“Because we were asked to inspect the place. Anyways--when we go out there, don’t say a word, just play along, got it?” Aiden awaited for their response. The two thought for a moment, but soon nodded in unison. 

“Alright, let’s go.” Aiden lead the way, carefully maneuvering around the chairs, the three following behind as their footsteps all mixed together in the echo of the abandoned building. Stopping in front of a big, round top wooden double doors, bits of the old dark mahogany wood were chipped away with age, it’s surface was rugged and appeared to have scratch marks that blended in with the woods’ cracks.  
Aiden, without warning, grabbed Jesse’s hand and promptly held them behind his back with a bit of force, squeezing Jesse’s wrists tightly. “Hey!” before Jesse could continue, Aiden shushed him, “Just look down and don’t say anything, no matter what, okay?” 

Jesse watched as Rose did the same to Olivia, who wore a confused, unprepared, and worried expression; hesitantly, Jesse just nodded and turned his head to the floor, but tried his best to keep his friend in his field of view. Aiden, while holding Jesse’s arms together with one hand, used his free hand to swing open the door. An old, crumbling stone pathway, broken into chunks as grass grew from the cracks swayed gently from the light breeze, helping Jesse feel a little reassured; the world they’ve entered wasn’t a wasteland, there was life; this wasn’t some bizarre robot controlled city or zombie infested area, it almost gave off an odd sense of nostalgia. 

“Ah, Aiden,” Jesse heard a deep voice say, “Good to see you came out in one piece, you were takin’ quite a while! We were about to send someone after you two!” 

“You know us; we can handle ourselves.” Aiden chuckled as the sound of even more footsteps came near, a sudden burst of chatter filled the air, questions being asked left and right,  
“Who are these people?” a gruff voice asked, “We didn’t see no one enter!” another said in a panicked manner, “I swear, we were all standing here, watchin’ like hawks!” 

“Don’t worry,” Aiden began, looking at the small crowd of guards, “Apparently these kids found a hole in one of the walls and snuck their way in. They don’t seem to be apart of The Hero’s Awakening, just some trouble makers. We’ll just bring them back to Obsidian town, do a bit of questioning, and send them off.” 

“Why don’t you go find that hole or any noticeable cracks? We wouldn’t want anyone ELSE sneaking in, would we?” Rose suggested in a somewhat condescending tone, the guards jumped.  
“Oh yes, yes, on it!” one of the guards soluted as the group began to march off, their metal, ash colored boots clanking each time it hit the ground as their steel chestplate and shoulder pads, which were tightly tied around their torso, quietly clinked. Their tight, dark green pants and long sleeved, moss colored shirt helped them blend into the forest surroundings as they slowly left Aiden’s sight. Him and Rose began walking forward, occasionally looking behind them to make, making sure no one was watching or following them.

After a minute of complete silence, Jesse asked “Are we clear?”  
“Yep.” Aiden responded.  
“That’s great. Could you... Let go of my arms, please, they’re starting to hurt.” 

“Oh, sorry.” Aiden instantly set Jesse’s hands free, unaware of how hard he had been squeezing them together. Jesse rubbed his sore wrists and looked up to finally observe wherever the heck they were.  
They were standing in the middle of a luscious field of grass, small, bright flowers, ranging from hues of yellow, sky blue, and bits of red stood out on the field like blobs of paint on a canvas. The land itself wasn’t completely flat either; noticeably long grass blades would break up the horizon, their tips touching the sky as they’d sway carefully. The forest surrounding the shrine seemed to be in some sort of large “U” shape that must’ve stretched out for a good mile if Jesse had to guess. The sun’s set was blocked off by the thick trees, which only allowed thin rays of light to pass through, but the sky itself was a wonderful combination of pinks and oranges. There was a path of dirt, most likely from people constantly walking over the patches of grass for so long, that seemed to go in a straight--slightly crooked--line; and in the distance, there was an oddly shaped, lumpy structure, which Jesse assumed was the town Aiden had mentioned. 

“Are we done enjoying the scenery? We need to get going.” Rose said as she let go of Olivia, walking ahead of the three. Aiden shook his head and walked beside her, motioning both Jesse and Olivia to follow behind, “The town’s not too far from here, if you need to stop at any point, just let us know.”  
“I’d keep walking.” Rose commented, not looking away from the town’s general direction, Aiden rolled his eyes with a grin on his face. He spun around and, while walking backwards, told Jesse and Olivia “Make sure to keep those clothes on you until we get to our place; I don’t mind if you stain my jacket or anything, juuust don’t lose it, got it?” 

“Got it.” Jesse’s head bobbed as he got to Olivia’s side, the two of them began talking, following behind Aiden and Rose a good several feet away.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Do you have any idea what’s going on through Aiden’s head?” Olivia asked as she folded her arms, trying to adjust the oversized leather jacket on her, “I know it’s been a while since we had our little ‘playdates’ with him but what happened at that shrine? That was... bizarre.”  
Jesse stroked his chin, trying to think of any possible answer for what took place not even an hour ago, everything happened so suddenly, it almost felt like a dream. It was obvious Aiden, and his friend weren’t too happy thrilled to run into Jesse, so it seems like their relationship hasn’t changed too much; even while Aiden spoke to him in a kind manner, he held his hands tightly and didn’t even return his sword, as if they were expecting him to run away or suddenly attack. Jesse rubbed his wrists again when reminded of Aiden’s grip.  
However, there was another odd thing Aiden had done that was eating Jesse up inside, and he knew Olivia felt the same. 

Leaning close, not wanting Rose nor Aiden to hear them, he spoke to Olivia in a low voice, “Speaking of bizarre... How bout the way those two reacted when they saw you?”  
“Yeah! I was just about to bring that up! He just got all weird and far too touchy- and-” 

“They were acting like you died or something.” Jesse said in a somewhat blunt and concerned way. Olivia gulped “Uhm, yeah, I was trying to... Avoid that word.” she twirled a strand of her thick, black hair with her finger while she brought her eyes to the ground.  
Jesse felt a bit of red creep up on his face, “Sorry.” he quickly apologized while he scratched the back of his head nervously. 

“No, it’s okay. It needed to be said,” Olivia let out a sigh, “But that’s not what we should be worrying about. We should find out how to reactivate the portal.”  
“Right, there’s gotta be an answer somewhere!” Jesse gave her a big smile, but she continued to wear an anxious and lost expression. Carefully placing his hand on her shoulder, “We’ll get out of this together, I promise.”  
Shifting her head up and bringing her eyes to Jesse’s, she smiled weakly, “Thanks, Jesse.” 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“I’m almost 90% sure he as amnesia,” Rose began as she reached into her hoodie’s pocket, pulling out black, thick framed glasses and swiftly putting them on. “He doesn’t have amnesia, Rose.” Aiden replied, furrowing his brow.  
“Oh really? Then would YOU like to explain how Jesse has little to no memory of this place? About US? Maybe he hit his head too hard last week...”  
“He remembers our names-” before Aiden could continue, Rose immediately butt in, “YOUR name. He remembers YOUR name. And he seemed pretty surprised when he saw you.” 

“Well he just... Didn’t expect to see us at the shrine.” Aiden felt an odd sense of anger build up, though he couldn’t necessarily pinpoint why he was getting angry, which bothered him even more. He began walking faster, Rose sped up and continued talking, “A shrine that he knew absolutely nothing about. And this is Jesse we’re talking about. He knew this place like the back of his hand. If he doesn’t have amnesia then he’s definitely planning something terrible. For pete’s sake, Olivia is here! That’s a serious red flag.” 

“That’s why we’re going back to the others so we can find out more.” 

“I hate being ‘that person’, but I think they’ll be siding with me. First, Jesse got hurt pretty badly, he was unconscious for about a day, then he doesn’t say a WORD to us for another two days and now,” she quickly turned and looked at Jesse before turning back to Aiden, whisper shouting, “He barely knows anything!” 

“I get what you’re saying, but right now we can’t be certain. Let’s just wait. Please.” Aiden ended sternly. Rose raised her eyebrows, unamused, then huffed “Fine.”


	4. Chapter 4

It had been half an hour of walking It didn’t feel that long to Jesse and Olivia, who were too preoccupied with discussing their current situation, but Aiden and Rose felt every one of those thirty minutes. If they weren’t walking beside each other in an irritated, wordless manner, they’d start talking with each other, which would quickly develop into an argument, which would then result in them giving each other the silent treatment. From a bystander’s point of view, Jesse wasn’t necessarily sure if they were progressing or even reached an agreement at any point, but Jesse was hoping that the two of them wouldn’t act this way during the questioning--wouldn’t want that to be awkward. 

Jesse turned to his friend who was stressing over what had happened in the last hour; the shrine, the carving of the man, Aiden’s attitude, it all seemed like a lot for her at the moment. Olivia had been rambling incoherently, her words merging together as she spoke at a ridiculously fast rate. Jesse had tuned out Olivia’s maunder while observing her; Her eyes darted around as she tugged a lock of her thick black hair with one hand, gesturing with her other hand, moving it about so much that Jesse thought it’d snap off. 

“... Maybe I’m just overreacting but do you see where I’m coming from? Jesse?” Olivia quickly asked, her voice cracking a little. Jesse stared at her blankly, trying to recall what topic they were going on about, he looked down in embarrassment and opened his mouth, contemplating what to say when Olivia let out a defeated--and worried--whine. 

“Were you even paying attention?” 

“It’s not that--I’m sorry I was just keeping an eye on Aiden and Rose, I kinda got lost in my thoughts.” Jesse shoved his hands in his pockets as his ears turned red. Olivia folded her arms, hugging herself, she shook her head “No, don’t be. We’re both worried about this whole... Mess.” 

Jesse looked ahead, they were getting closer and closer to the town with each step, though it was quite a challenge to properly examine it. From what Jesse could make out, the town looked like a big, black rectangle with a vague gate shaped structure in front of it, a few tips of buildings were peaking above the structure, but that’s about it. The once colorful sky was consumed by hues of dark blue with white specs scattered about; the moon was full, bright and brilliant, acting like a spotlight for the four; had it not been for that, the town would be nearly invisible in the night’s sky.

Breaking the moment of silence, Jesse spoke up, “Sooo... Any theories on where we might be?” he kept his eyes on the sky.

Olivia tapped her chin and clicked her tongue, “Well, from what we’ve seen so far--and what we’ve experienced--there’s not too much to work with. At first, I thought we just entered a portal which lead to another temple in our world, but- OH JESSE!” she shrieked, Jesse’s heart stopped for a split second, Aiden and Rose stopped walking and spun around.  
Jesse felt Olivia grab his hand while he felt his foot reach out, landing on absolutely nothing. He brought his eyes down as the weight of his body leaned forward, mere inches from walking straight into a ravine. The fracture on the world’s surface seemed bottomless, the lava and waterfalls that spewed from the sides would keep running down till they were engulfed in the abyss which hid the ground of the chasm. And while Jesse couldn’t see it, his mind was filled with images of hundreds of monstrous spiders and rotting corpses roaming about, He heard desperate gasps--his own heavy breathing--as Olivia slowly pulled him back to her side, a few feet away from the ravine.

Clutching his chest with his hand, he felt himself shake like a leaf, staring at what could’ve been his grave with wide, white eyes.

“You okay?” Olivia asked, carefully placing her hand on her friend’s shoulder. 

Jesse nodded once and mouthed the word “thanks”, he took a couple more steps back before continuing their walk towards the town, remaining close by his friend’s side, the vision of the ravine’s drop still fresh in his mind. 

“Come on Aiden, we’re almost home.” Rose said; Aiden felt his body relax, his jaw unhinged. He was about two meters away from Rose, he must’ve started running--or at the very least, speed walked--to help Jesse, it happened almost on command; he didn’t even need to think about it, which might’ve been why he didn’t notice.

“... Right.” Aiden hesitantly turned back to Rose, taking big heavy steps that’d hit the ground with a thud, not making any other sound. 

Rose, without even glancing at Aiden, asked “You still have some sorta soft spot for him?” in an unamused tone. 

He didn’t say anything at first, but soon grumbled “I didn’t want Jesse to die before he got back to our place.” 

Rose, not knowing whether Aiden was upset at himself or at her, decided not to ask anymore questions. Pushing her glasses up, the two of them walked in silence once again.

~~~~~

“JEEZ, that had to have been the eighth rivine we passed by tonight! It’s ridiculous,” Olivia’s head turned towards Jesse’s near death experience.

“So- as you were saying?” Jesse attempted to ask in a casual manner, his heart still pounding in his chest, Olivia looked at him, bewildered.  
“You almost died and you want to continue our conversation?!” 

“Would you like to hear what your life flashing before your eyes is like instead?” 

Olivia hesitated, “Uh... Not yet.” 

Adjusting the oversized leather jacket covering her body, she backtracked and mouthed the bits of their previous conversation that she could remember until a lightbulb went off. “So there’s not too much to work with right now, but my best theory right now is that we’ve found another portal that lead to Sky City. That could explain bits of how Aiden’s acting, he wasn’t happy to see you but he didn’t... Want to... Stab you?” she shrugged uncertainly at her duff attempt at adding humor to the explanation. 

She glanced at Rose then back at Jesse, “And it’s the only way I could think of who Rose is and why she’s with Aiden. Maybe when everyone left Sky City and started their new life on land, the two met and bonded?” 

“But Aiden had Gill and Maya, those two would follow him everywhere like puppies. He wouldn’t ditch those two for someone else!” Jesse pointed out,   
“I know, but there are so many other possibilities, it’s hard to pinpoint an exact answer.” Olivia’s shoulders drooped as her fingers tapped against the leather sleeve quickly, producing a continuous pattering sound. 

“Maybe Obsidian Town will give us some answers.” Jesse suggested in an effort to give his friend hope. 

She chuckled, “I just hope they don’t wanna kill us on the spot.” 

“Alright you two, buddy-buddy time is over, we’re getting close to the town, we’re gonna need to hold your hands--arms again.” Rose announced, her voice echoing throughout the empty field, she leaned over to Aiden and whispered, “There HAS to be a word for the way we hold it.” 

“What, why?!” Jesse asked as he kept an eye on the girl with glasses, the moon’s light shining on her pale face, the broad man right by her side. 

“Because-” Before Aiden could start, Rose cut in, “Because unless you want to get an angry horde of people coming after you--OR make our lives much harder, you have no better option.” 

Jesse caught a glimpse of how far they were from their next location, and it was safe to assume they were only a five minute walk away from the town’s main entrance. He could make out much more of the place than he did before; a tall, dark wall stood proud and most likely surrounded the town, stretching on for--give or take--half a mile. Two, thin watchtowers were on both ends of the wall with dim lights shining from both of them, barely lighting their surrounding area. There was a large arch shaped gate made up of stone and wood; bits of houses and other buildings could be seen. 

He brought his attention back to Rose and Aiden, who were getting closer to them. Jesse felt himself instinctively take a step back as Aiden approached them.

“Fine but,” he clasped his hands together, “Could you not hold it as hard as last time?” 

“If you make it easy for us, sure. And you know what?” Rose’s tone took a more optimistic, but clearly mocking, tone “If the idea of Aiden holding your sensitive hands bother you so much, I can do it instead!” 

Without giving Jesse a chance to respond, she forcefully spun him around and grabbed his wrists, her sharp nails digging into his skin. Jesse gritted his teeth and cringed, holding back the urge to say anything in fear that she’d only shove her nails even deeper into his arm. Aiden took notice of Rose’s little interaction but decided against the idea of commenting, not wanting to spark another argument. He turned to Olivia, who already put her hands behind her back, though her body was facing away from the tall man, her face was tilted ever so slightly to see Aiden from the corner of her worried filled eyes.

“Alright, let’s go.” Aiden said as he carefully held Olivia’s wrists together; his grip loose enough that Olivia thought she could slip out of his hands--but that was just a thought.

Jesse took the time to get a better look at the front of the town’s large gate, which appeared to be in perfect condition, almost as if it were never used. His eyes drifted towards the thick walls and let out a tiny gasp. The entire thing was made out of “... Obsidian...” he mumbled.  
He heard Rose make a snide comment under her breath.

Brushing aside Rose’s commentary, he noticed that they were slowly leaving the dusky, grassy land, as two beams of bright light coming from the top of the gate--most likely from glowstone--shone down upon them. Jesse squinted, looking up at the top of the gateway, he was able to make out the silhouette of two people, but he was unable to decide whether those were guards keeping watch, or just people who happened to be hanging around. Admittingly, Jesse was looking forward to seeing Obsidian Town and its residents. 

“Put your head down.” Rose ordered, pushing him down with great force, not giving Jesse the chance to react. A bit of Olivia’s hat covered one of his eyes, he wished he could shift it to a more comfortable position, but all he did was sigh to himself as he stared down at the dirt path below them. 

Olivia, not wanting to get the same treatment as her friend, zipped her head to the ground.

The dirt path ended abruptly at a wooden bridge underneath the gate that overshadowed them and hid the light; after that, the floor underneath them was concrete. Jesse could hear the footsteps of citizens roaming about, conversations in the distance, doors opening and closing. As they kept going on, there’d be the occasional “Hello!” to Aiden and Rose, they seemed to be pretty well known--even liked--in this town. No one had said anything to or about Olivia and Jesse, but he could feel all eyes on them, locked onto them like hawks, but there was nothing that could be done except to continue walking in shame like a criminal being escorted to jail.  
From what little Jesse could make out, the place gave off a friendly feeling; people out in the evening, the streetlamps giving the area a nice, calm lighting, hopefully him and Olivia will get the chance to explore the site. 

“I don’t think we took too long in there, did we?” Aiden asked Rose, who thought for a second before shaking her head, “Couldn’t have been more than an hour, maybe a little bit less if you exclude the walk to and from the shrine.” 

“Hopefully the others didn’t get worried and wander off,” he twisted his head at the gate, eyeing the flat land they had walked through.. 

She shook her head, “No,” she pushed up her glasses, “Gill, maybe, but I’m sure they’re still waiting. Now let’s hurry up, I don’t wanna-” Rose’s talking came to a stop as she let out a quiet, but elongated groan.  
“Great...” 

Aiden brought his attention back to the path in front of him and perked up, holding Olivia with one hand, he waved, “Oh, hey Radar!”   
Jesse froze, he felt his heart pounding in his chest, a weird sense of relief washed over him, thankful that someone who actually liked him was here. Footsteps approached the four, Jesse wanted to see his good friend, glasses and all, but he kept his head down, only able to see Radar’s black, oxford shoes.

“Aiden,” Jesse heard Radar’s high pitch voice began, “Ro-”

“We’re not on that level of friendship yet, Radar.” Rose stated coldly, adding an icy glare to complete the sentence.   
Halting for a moment, he folded his arms and continued “Sorry, Cassie... Rose. Moving on,” Radar kept talking, but his words blurred together, everything became muffled and Jesse felt his palms get sweaty. The nails digging into him no longer bothered him, his heart was pounding in his throat as the sound boomed throughout his head.   
Cassie Rose--a murderer who despised him--was holding onto him, they’ve been interacting this whole time, and he didn’t notice the red flags. His body tensed up, he wanted to rip his arms out of her grip and knock her down, maybe run, but he was sure that doing so would make the situation far worse. Jesse tuned back into the conversation, trying to take his mind off of the reveal so he could remain calm.

“... I’m glad you two didn’t take too long at The Shrine of Eyes; when I heard that a green glow was seen, I knew something terrible had happened. What did you find?” what Jesse found peculiar about Radar was, despite sounding like the prelude of a flute, was very monotonic, never shifting from its flat tone.   
“We didn’t have a chance to see the portal activated, but we DID find these two kids who apparently snuck in.” Aiden nudged Olivia along and started walking, Jesse and Rose soon following behind, “We’re gonna question them with the others.” Radar got close to them, specifically close to Jesse, he leaned close to him, “Do you believe they’re--” 

Rose shoved the black haired man away, catching him off guard as his glasses slipped down his nose, “Nope. Not apart of the group. We gotta go now.” she gave Jesse a light kick in his ankle, making him speed up just a bit more, “Rose is right, see you tomorrow.” Aiden added, not looking back at Radar.  
“But how can you be so sure if-”   
“GoodBYE, Radar.” Rose ended sternly, leaving him behind as he watched them walk away, confused. 

After traveling roughly a block in silence, with both Olivia and Jesse’s minds racing all over the place, they began slowing down, approaching a three story house, its shape resembling an octagon. The walls were mostly made up of birch wood with spruce planks--probably--dividing up each floor of the house; double doors were front and centered, with small windows on each side. There was another large window in the middle of the house, a faint light from the room shone through the glass, with a couch and small table visible, but that’s all that could be seen for now. The third floor had a window in the center as well, but it was noticeably smaller and had no light source, looking more like a void than anything else.   
The roof was also made of spruce wood, parts of it hung off the edge, a cobblestone fence at the top. There was also a nice cobblestone fence that was surrounding a small portion in the front of the house, the front yard decorated with a small handful of tulips, lilacs, and roses.  
Two glowstone lamps were on each side of the house, a good 5 or so feet away, the group stood underneath the lamp on the left side, talking amongst themselves.

“We don’t know who’s where in the house,” Aiden started, “Or who’s even there.” Rose added, “Right, so the best thing to do is to call everyone down and just break the news to them.” Aiden turned towards Olivia and Jesse, “I’ll signal you two when you can come inside, it shouldn’t take too long.”   
Olivia responded with a “Got it!”, while Jesse nodded, albeit a bit sceptical. 

Aiden and Cassie Rose began heading towards the front door, the redhead faced them, “Don’t move from this spot.” she pierced through Jesse’s eyes, “If you run off, we’ll find you.” she continued walking, but her eyes were still locked onto Jesse, unblinking.  
The two stood in front of the spruce double doors, discussing something as Olivia and Jesse watched in the distance, the redstone lamp feeling more like a spotlight than a street light. Jesse lifted his head to get a chance to look at a small portion of Obsidian town; most of the town was hidden in the dark, the lights barely illuminating the pathways, some buildings were much more visible than others. Across from Aiden’s house, there was a row of small businesses: A blacksmith, a general store, a place to enchant items, and a library in the middle of them all.   
What was peculiar about them was that they were all still open, bustling with activity, lights on or music playing. From what could be seen through the windows, people were talking amongst themselves, reading, maybe snacking, it was quite busy for an evening.

“Weird that these stores are still open...” Jesse observed, Olivia shuffled a few steps closer to him, “Are we allowed to stop looking down??” 

“Oh uh- I just kinda- Stopped. Looking down.” he shrugged but immediately shifted focus, “Wait wait wait! What about Cassie Rose!? How crazy is that??” he whisper shouted.   
Olivia’s eyes went wide, “Oh my gosh- right?! Completely out of nowhere, I’m surprised she didn’t strangle us on the spot.” 

“Maybe it’s because Aiden was with us,” speaking of, Jesse looked back at the house, Aiden and Cassie Rose were no longer there, the doors were wide open, some of the lights from inside were released, dazzling the tiny garden. 

Olivia watched the door keenfully, she didn’t want to worry Jesse, but her mind had already raced to several different scenarios where the two of them would be attacked, kidnapped, held hostage--though that’s similar to kidnapping--she couldn’t see any good outcome to this situation. And though she hates to think it, she sort of blames Jesse for wounding them up here. She’s not exactly mad at Jesse, he’s a reliable friend, he’s always there to help out or be a shoulder to lean on, making sure his friends were never down, motivating them--but christ can he never seem to plan ahead. He might consider an option or think about a situation for a moment, but afterwards he’ll dally off to whatever piques his curiosity, or say whatever he feels is right for the problem, not thinking about the consequences. This has led them to getting in h multiple times, including this one.

While cautiously keeping an eye on the door, she heard the murmur of a voice, but didn’t pay any mind to it. The voice came again, then suddenly, a hand placed itself on her shoulder and shook her.  
“Olivia!” Jesse said quietly, “Let’s go.” he motioned towards the doors, Aiden’s--well anything above his chest area--stuck out, his legs still in the house as he waved at them in a somewhat secretive manner. Olivia and Jesse speed walked to the front yard, making sure to avoid the delicate flowers as the sound of a bustling conversation grew more and more loud. Aiden quickly signaled them to “Stop” right before entering the building. He stepped into the house again, the once lively chat died down, a few hushes could be heard, the area fell silent, the faint background music barely filling in the void.

Coming out again, Aiden nodded, “Alright, come in. Slowly.” adding a hint of emphasis on “slowly”.

Olivia was the first to enter; a living room with two large, light green couches, an armchair to match, and a wall covered with bookshelves from top to bottom sat on the right side of the room, shrouded in darkness, none of the lamps turned on. The same couldn’t be said for the left area of the house, a kitchen with it’s own bar table shone brightly, the metal pieces of the kitchen reflected and glared, and the laminated maple wood floor was polished to the point where you could see your reflection. But the interior was not Olivia’s biggest concern when she looked at who was sitting at the bar table--

There was Stella, who was sitting on one of the tall, cool gray bar stools, her back straight, hands folded in her lap while her pure diamond--almost bleach-like--side cut, hair was resting by her shoulder, hanging about.   
Sitting next to her was Gill, who wore a t-shirt that faded from a dark blue to white; compared to his loose and comfortable looking khakis, the shirt he wore appeared clingy or tight, stretching/straining against his large build, giving it a more refined shape. He was balancing the stool on its two hind legs; his legs crossed and on the table, one hand on his stomach while the other was stroking his short, brown boxed beard, stubbles leading to his buzz cut hairstyle, which was a little fluffy.. Then there was Maya, who, unlike the other two, was sitting on the table itself, arms folded and legs dangling off the edge. Like Aiden, she had a leather jacket of her own, but it was noticeably thinner, the sleeves rolled up, each one having its own little, golden button, which complimented her hair clip and her black boots with gold colored straps. A bold colored shirt, collar being a bright yellow--along with the bottom--with the rest of the article mostly being candy apple red, helped the big, navy blue “E” stand out in the smack center. 

‘Great. This is amazing. It’s not like these people despise me, or wanna throw me off a cliff-’ Olivia thought to herself, her breathing becoming unsteady as she kept opening her closing her increasingly sweating hands. 

The three stared at Olivia, slack jawed, their faces white as a sheet. Their gaped eyes focused on her, as if they encountered a ghost or some otherworldly creature. Olivia licked her lips, and let out a weak, cracky “Hi...”, uncertain whether or not she should say something to break the tension.

Stella’s once stiff posture loosened up as she leaned over the table, as if inspecting the girl, her arms slowly moving out of her lap and onto the top, hands flat and stiff. Her mouth was parted, seeking out the right words to say, but nothing came.  
Gill almost stumbled out of his chair and--had it not been for his quick reaction--saved himself from falling off. He ended up stepping off and standing still, the bar acting like a border between his friends and Olivia. Maya’s eyes flickered, she scooted herself off of the table, stepping closer to Olivia, who stood as still as a statue, her eyes following the russet haired girl with her eyes.

“You weren’t kidding...” Maya finally said, leaning close to the black, curly haired girl, who used Aiden’s jacket as a shell to hide in. Staring back at Aiden, who was leaning against the wall by the door, she continued “This is... ‘Shocking’.”   
Cassie Rose nodded, “We’re not entirely sure if she’s the ‘real deal’ or not, so don’t get too touchy.” 

“What??” Gill ran back up to the table--scaring Stella--and slid to the top in such an awkward position that the others thought he would fall off.  
“How could she not be real?! She’s right there! Right in front of us!” 

“Yeah, I know but,” Rose adjusted her glasses and turned to the front door, “We have some reasonable doubts.”

Aiden rose, the two exchanged a look of agreement towards each other. Sticking his head out the door again, Aiden mumbled “Alright, come in.” to Jesse, who had been against the wall, next to the door outside, listening.   
Jesse mouthed the word okay as he took the green hat off and held it close to his chest, squeezing it tightly. He wasn’t sure what to expect, he could only make out bits and pieces of whatever was going on inside.

He stepped in and the second he passed the doorway, he scanned the dumbfounded and dazed faces along with Olivia’s jittery expression.   
It felt as though a bomb had dropped in his stomach, a sickly, queasy feeling twisted his guts as he could make out Maya, Gill, and Stella, whose attentions were all on him now. 

Their once astonished faces shifted to a brief flash of confusion, anger, then finally, wrath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a long wait for this chapter! Got caught up with a bit of school and I didn't have internet for about a week so ripppp  
Hope you all like the chapter though!


	5. Chapter 5

“It’s Jesse!” Gill shouted, leaping over the table and towards the curly haired boy. Jesse jumped, but that was the most movement he could produce in those mere seconds as Gill lunged at him and tackled Jesse to the ground, his body letting out a disgusting crack as all of Gill’s weight crushed him against the floor. “I got him down!”  
He forced Jesse’s body to face towards Stella, who got atop of the bar and whipped out a sturdy bow and slender arrows with tips gleaming a hue of a sickly green. She aimed the arrow at Jesse’s head, which was being held in place by Gill’s monstrous hand. Maya’s attention was all on Jesse, she walked away from a baffled Olivia and to the boy being held down, cracking her knuckles. 

Jesse would’ve been pounded to a fine dust had Aiden not intervened. 

“Hey HEY! Don’t kill him!” Aiden grabbed Gill by the shoulders and yanked him off, pushing him aside. Gill stumbled and would’ve fell had it not been more Maya catching him. Stella lowered her bow, baffled by Aiden’s order.

“Well, not yet.” Rose added. Aiden huffed, disregarding his friend’s comment and helped Jesse up with a tight grip on his shoulder. 

Gill, Stella, and Maya stared at their friend with a mixture of disbelief and disgust, “Are you on Jesse’s side now?!” Gill asked, his voice cracking a little.  
“Maybe he’s been brainwashed, he does look a little pale...” Maya growled as she cracked her knuckles, stepping closer to Aiden.  
“Would you LISTEN?!” Aiden shot out, teeth gritted. Maya stepped back to her group of friends, lips compressed as she fought the urge to snap back.

The room became quiet, Aiden let go of Jesse as he bit the inside of his cheek. Stella stepped off the table and subtly tried to bring herself closer to Olivia. Jesse took the time to study his surroundings. Well, mostly the kitchen. Maybe there’d be a weapon--or something similar to a weapon--that he could use to protect himself with, just in case. The first thing that stuck out to Jesse were the two thick wooden poles. One by the end of the light, cool gray bar table, and the other was awkwardly placed by the dark brown kitchen table in the center, surrounded by chairs of the same color but with aqua colored cushions. The poles had to have been built into the house, they were the same color as the kitchen’s maple wood floor and merged with the ceiling. There were no nails, screams, nothing that showed the poles to be an afterthought. But what purpose did they serve? The outside of the house looked stable, maybe it was added for the sake of looking cool?

The rest of the kitchen was absurdly clean. The gray counters that stretched across the wall didn’t have a single stain, and a large, sleek black refrigerator was at the end of the counters. It was cleaned to the point where you could most likely see your reflection. There were dusty brown cabinets up above, most likely containing dishes; Jesse didn’t see a single plate nor cup anywhere, not even a knife block out, there were no visible dishes in or around the sink either. The only thing that WAS on the counter was a simple, gray and black microwave and a coffee machine.  
Lastly, of course, was the bar table that Stella stood on. A solid, light gray color with specs of black scattered about, its top as bare as the counters’. A few of its slender, cool gray stools fell to the ground when everyone decided to go on full attack mode.

Jesse was bummed that he couldn’t find any potential weapon, but was impressed by the condition of this place.‘This is a surprisingly tidy place for THIS group… Out of all the people.’ 

Aiden straightened his green, long sleeved shirt and began, “Rose and I went to the Shrine of Eyes, and the speculations were true: The portal had been activated. However, we didn’t get to see the portal itself in its active state.”  
Cassie Rose walked up to her friend’s side, “However, we did find Jesse... And Olivia.” the room managed to get even more quiet, eyes sneaking glances at the black haired girl, who did her best to ignore the unwanted attention.  
“You think the portal brought her back to life?” Gill questioned. 

“I don’t know.” Aiden answered straightly, he folded his arms and kicked the floor, looking down as everyone watched him, waiting for him to add on to his statement. Aiden paced about, thinking out loud, mumbling possible outcomes to himself; Cassie Rose spoke up, “When we ran into Jesse, he told us he found the portal in a jungle temple and ended up here. He didn’t know where he was, what the Shrine of Eyes was, but... He knew who Aiden was.”  
Jesse was debating on whether or not it was a good time to mention he knew EVERYONE in this room, each with their own, unique, terrible experiences, but given the current mood everybody’s in, he decided it wasn’t the best idea.  
“That’s the crappiest lie I’ve ever heard.” Maya grumbled.  
“Ugh, tell me about it.” Cassie Rose rolled her eyes to the back of her head.

“I agree!” Stella announced as she circled around Jesse, “I don’t see why we’re making this into such a predicament! We know Jesse, right? I thought it was quite CLEAR that he has a couple of screws loose, to put it nicely. ” Stella stuck her nose up, speaking in her typical know-it-all tone.  
“Who here thinks our little friend is lying? Just curious.” Stella asked, raising her hand in the air.  
Almost instantaneously, Maya raised her hand. Then Gill. And finally, Rose, but not before giving Aiden an almost pitied glance. Jesse, Aiden, and Olivia were the remaining few whose hands were down.  
There was an uncomfortable silence before Aiden finally spoke up, “We can’t just have a vote on whether or not he’s lying, none of us know that.”

“Yes, but we DO know Jesse. He’s lied hundreds of times before and you’re making an exception this one time? He’s mad!” Stella responded.

“Hey now wait just a minute-” Jesse spoke up but was immediately interrupted by Maya.

“YOU don’t get a say in this!” She put her raised hand down to point at Jesse in the most aggressive manner he’s ever seen.

“I think I should! You’re all talking about me, might as well add my two cents in this, right?!” Jesse snapped, his response met with angry glares. 

“Well alright, go on then! Say somethin’! Whatever the heck’s on your mind, no one’s stoppin’ ya!” Maya growled, sizing up and invading his personal space.

Jesse moved his mouth as he attempted to make some coherent thought or sense of what was going on, soon realizing he really didn’t know what was happening. He didn’t even know how to feel about the situation he found himself in, or whatever the heck he was being accused of. Sure, it made him upset to be ganged up against, but he wasn’t quite sure why. He fell quiet as his face felt hot.

“Yeah that’s what I thought.” the large girl spat as she turned back to her friends.

Jesse bit his tongue. He contained his urge to spit a remark back, knowing it wouldn’t do him any good. So far, no one seemed willing to talk--let alone explain something--to him without treating him like dirt. They didn’t hide their favoritism with Olivia. So for now, he’ll wait. He doesn’t know much about what’s going on or why people are reacting the way they were, but answers would hopefully come soon. The only good plan that he could come up with would be to remain quiet until he had some information he could work with.

“It’s only a matter of time before his little facade wears off.” Jesse heard Stella whisper to Rose, who nodded once and sternly.

“Well...” Aiden took a deep breath “No one knows what exactly is going on. And honestly, jumping to conclusions won’t help us. So we need to find out.” His voice gaining the sort of confidence you’d hear in a leader.

Aiden stood tall and scanned the room, brainstorming as everyone else waited for him to begin.

“Here’s what’s going to happen: Half of us will go to the library to see if we can find any books or journals that have any information about this portal situation. I don’t care if there’s an entire book about the subject, one whole chapter dedicated to it, even a brief mention! Something is better than nothing.” the group nodded, even Jesse found himself getting more and more drawn into the developing plan.  
Aiden continued, “The other half will watch over Jesse... And Olivia to play it safe.” he hesitated. “Tomorrow, we can go to Hadrian’s little museum, they could also have some relics or books that might contain any information related to this.”

“How’s that sound?” Aiden concluded, eyeing his friends, waiting for their reactions.

Rose whispered to Maya, who then whispered to Stella. The girls began silently discussing amongst themselves as Aiden pondered who should do what. 

Someone then spoke up.

“Stella, Maya, and I can hit the library--we’re both thinking about the same library at the edge of town, right? Not the one by Hadrian’s?” Rose asked. Aiden nodded in confirmation. “Good, it shouldn’t be too long of a walk then.”

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Stella spoke up, all eyes went to her “Why is Olivia getting the same treatment as Jesse?” there was murmuring amongst the girls again as Olivia felt her heart speed up by the mere mention of her name. She didn’t want to be in the spotlight or be the cause of any conflict. Not now.

“Do you really want to put Olivia on the same level as Jesse?” Rose asked almost weakly. Aiden, taken aback, sputtered as his face struggled to match the array of emotions he shifted through until he was able to collect himself and revert back to his previous stern look.  
“It’s not that,” Aiden began quietly, “You know that.” Rose folded her arms, locking eyes with Aiden. “Think about what we’re going through. How the town might react if they see her. What could happen to her. Or you!” 

“I don’t trust her in the same room with him.” Rose firmly stated, her hands gripping her arms tighter and tighter.

“That’s why some of us are staying behind to watch over both of them.”

“She could come with us to the library...” Rose said under her breath.

“She doesn’t even know where she IS.”

“So this will be a perfect opportunity to jog her memory! It’ll be a trip down memory lane.” Stella slid in between the two, preventing a possible feud from happening. She flashed a small, confident smile at Aiden, fixing the sleeves to her long, striped purple suit that merged with her skirt with a thin, black belt around it; a bit of the white shirt underneath the suit stuck out.

“I think her joining us at the library is a wonderful idea! It’ll be just like old times, I don’t see a reason why not to!” Stella wrapped one arm around Olivia and held her close. Olivia held her breath as Stella pressed against her, her dusty purple lapel brushing against her legs as Olivia’s thick, black hair pushed up against the girl’s face.  
Aiden opened his mouth to debate, but Stella put a finger over his face to silence him, “And we’ll be able to keep her out of sight juuusst fine. We’re all--what--a foot taller than her? We’ll just tuck her in the middle of our group and hide her! No problem.”

She began counting off a few other reasons, “We’ll be quiet, we won’t be too suspicious, we’ll bring some weapons with us so we’re prepared for ANYTHIN-” 

“And what if Olivia doesn’t want to go?” Aiden interrupted, halting Stella in her tracks. Stella blinked and attempted to work with Aiden’s question. Glancing at Olivia, who looked as if she wasn’t entirely sure about the answer herself.  
Letting go of the girl, she hesitated for a moment “Whhhyyyy.... WOULDN’T she want to tag along? Space away from Jesse could help immensely!” she shot Jesse a dirty look. 

Stella continued blabbing, trying to convince Aiden to go against his original plan. But he wasn’t budging. He stood tall, arms folded as he looked down on his friend. Stella sounded surprisingly confident despite making up most of her reasons on the fly, but just watching the two interact was like witnessing an unstoppable force clash with an immovable object.  
Olivia took the time she had to weigh the pros and cons if she agreed to tag along. On one hand, this could give her an opportunity to find out more about this new world her and Jesse had entered, maybe she could snag a few books and read up on any history, or she could ask questions to the group she’d be with.  
But on the other hand, what if this was a trap and they were planning on backstabbing her, Jesse would never know. Or what if she was kidnapped? She’d never be able to see her real home again, all her friends would assume she’s dead. And why do they want her to remain hidden? The way they reacted to her when they first saw her wasn’t natural. It was clear something had happened to her. Had she gone missing? Did she die? She doesn’t want to think about that right now. 

All the horrible downsides and possibilities miraculously sparked something in her brain. She turned her head to look at Jesse, whose eyes shifted to meet her’s and gave her a reassuring smile. 

‘Do it for Jesse.’ Olivia thought to herself, closing her eyes, ‘You have this opportunity to learn more. This is the step in the right direction to get the both of us home. Where you need to be.’ She opened her eyes; Stella was still going off as Aiden still stood, she breathed in.

“... And did I mention this is the busiest time of the day, no one will pay attention to-”

“I want to join!” Olivia piped up. 

Aiden and Stella whirled their heads around, Stella far more enthusiastic than Aiden. He gave Olivia a concerned--worried--look.

“What Olivia says is law, sorry, I don’t make the rules!” Stella sang as she rushed up the stairs, her footsteps could still be heard on the second floor as she banged about before returning, practically flying down the stairs with her arms full of weapons and potions. She placed an iron sword and a few bottles filled with bright magenta liquid into her inventory then began handing Rose her own set of potions.

Taking out her diamond axe, Rose scanned the small crowd in her house, “The girls and I will head out to find what we can while you boys hang around here. Us girls gotta stick together, you know?”

“That sounds like an excuse to make sure I don’t stop you guys from getting killed.” 

“Maybe you’re right.” Rose responded simply. “And what of it?”

“You worry too much Aiden, we’ve been friends for yeeaaaarrrsss! You know us!” Stella slid over to nudge him playfully.

“You’re right, I do know you.” Aiden turned to Maya, “Maya. Watch over them. Make sure they don’t get into any trouble.”

Maya nodded, her face tough and cold. “Didn’t know we needed a babysitter.” Stella huffed.

“And before you head out,” Aiden began, Rose immediately groaned. “Head straight to the library, no detours.”

“Got it.” Rose said.

“Get what you need and don’t cause a scene or get yourselves kicked out.”

“Mm-hm.”

“Don’t interact with-”

“Alright dad, I get it. Safety’s important. We gotta go now, bye.” Rose ended as she ran over to join the rest of her friends.

“Let’s go.” Maya ordered and opened the door, watching each girl leave the house. Then she finally left, slamming the door behind her and shaking the house.

The group stood outside for a second in silence, only the sound of the crickets chirping and the distant music played in the nearby stores filled the air. The silence was almost refreshing, a nice change of pace from cluttered conversations that happened indoors. Olivia welcomed the peace that the outdoors provided, and for once, throughout this entire adventure--if you could even call it that--she didn’t feel like she was in the spotlight or in the middle of bickering. It was like a ton she wasn’t aware about was lifted off her shoulders and she felt her stiffened body relax a little.

“Man,” Maya broke the silence, “Even in times like these, Aiden still makes time to lecture us.” a smile crept across her stone cold face. The girls giggled amongst themselves.

They settled down and Stella spoke up, “So, how does this sound: The four of us will walk in a group, two people on the side, one up front so that way Olivia’s hidden in a little huddle!”

“Sounds good to me. I’ll be up front.” Maya said and began walking towards the stone sidewalk outside of the house, she tilted her head, motioning the others to come along.  
Olivia scurried behind Maya, now coming to terms with just how tall Maya truly was. Sure, Olivia was a few inches below the average height and EVERYONE was a bit taller than her, but Maya was a skyscraper compared to her. She was nearly as tall as Aiden and looked a bit intimidating when looking up at her.  
Rose and Stella stood on opposite sides of Olivia, sort of squishing her but she wasn’t suffocating just yet, so no point in complaining.

“We should reach the library in roughly half an hour,” said Cassie Rose, 

“So let’s get a move on!” Stella smiled as the group headed off.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The boys were alone, far apart from each other. The liveliness of the room left at the same time the girls did and Jesse missed the chatter. People might’ve been arguing but he prefered any conversation over the silent treatment he was currently getting. 

Jesse sat still, hands in lap, on the green couch in the living room engulfed by darkness. He wanted to turn one of the lights on, but based on the warm welcome he received earlier, he was certain he wouldn’t be allowed to. Aiden and Gill hadn’t said a word after the girls had left and migrated over to the kitchen; Jesse observed the large bookshelf in front of him, skimming the titles he could make out in the dark, listening to the rustling in the kitchen as he thought of a question he could ask to get the ball rolling, but suddenly, someone spoke.

“You’re making coffee? Again?” Jesse heard Gill ask across the kitchen. 

Carefully turning his head, he tuned into their conversation as the coffee machine let out a loud beep.

“Yeah.” Aiden responded in a somewhat colder manner, “You want some?” 

“Are you stressed again or something? This is like... Your eighth one.” 

“I’m not--” Aiden turned and locked eyes with Jesse, his brows creased slightly as he scooted closer to Gill, his voice lowering to an almost inaudible whisper. 

Jesse faced the bookshelf again, lips pressed together as his face turned a light shade of red. If he wanted to listen, maybe he could try being more subtle about it. Jesse sat still and tried to make out bits of the discussion in the distance, only hearing a few snippets every so often. He heard Aiden pour his coffee and take a slow sip out of it while occasionally shooting a few glares at him.  
The conversation between the two kept going, still as quiet as before, with no signs of stopping or getting louder. Jesse needed to ask a question or say SOMETHING to help get the ball rolling. It was now or never, the worst case scenario would be Aiden telling him to shut up or flat out ignoring him. Either way, it was better than sitting in complete silence, making no progress.

“So, uh,” Jesse raised his voice, “What library is Olivia and the other girls going to? You said there were two of them?” 

Aiden’s whisper faded out and he held his coffee cup with a tight grip, his eyes on Jesse.  
“... Yeah.” he answered hesitantly.  
There was a long stretch of silence before he continued, “There’s the local one, it’s closer and a lotta people visit it. Then there’s the one outside of town, it’s been up for centuries and it’s kept in good shape by the town since it contains a bunch of relics from the past.”

“Why don’t you just take the stuff from the older library and place it into the newer one?” Questioned Jesse who was now leaning his body forward to look through the window, seeing the public library peek out from the side with slim rays of the street lights shining in his face. People could be seen chatting through the library’s yellow tinted windows.

“Cause the guards wanna protect the ancient material ‘n the building itself cause it’s... Pretty old and important.” Gill vaguely explained, not entirely sure of the answer himself. He looked at Aiden for confirmation.  
Aiden lifted his cup up and nodded reassuringly, “Yep, that’s the gist of it.”

Jesse adjusted his body to face the other two, sitting on his knees as they dug into the soft cushions of the couch, “Is anyone able to enter?” 

“Nope. Only the few who were selected.” answered Aiden, taking another big gulp of coffee. 

Jesse opened his mouth to ask why, but it seemed Aiden already knew what he was about to say, as he responded almost impatiently, “We’re the reason the place is still in one piece. We’re allowed to go in. I don’t know who else is allowed in besides us.”  
Aiden’s eyes widened and he promptly turned to Gill, “How the heck are Rose and the others gonna get past the guards with Olivia there? They’re gonna notice her.” he shoved his face in his hands and groaned, upset with himself for not thinking about the security of the library. 

“Oh come on, they’re smart, I’m sure they’ll think of somethin’.” Gill said. Aiden took a deep breath and stared at Jesse from the corner of his eye as a question began making its way out of his mouth.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The girls had been walking for only several minutes and Olivia had already gotten tired of seeing Maya’s back. She wanted to see the scenery of this new area, she could hear other people walking, conversations happening, music playing, doors shutting, yet couldn’t get a snippet of anything. The girls on both sides of her also blocked most of her view. She understood that she had to be hidden from plain sight for unknown reasons, but she was beginning to feel more like a prisoner or a freak who was denied access to see even a glimpse of the world.

Rose, Stella, and Maya would talk amongst each other and would try to get Olivia involved--well--it was mostly Stella and Rose who did the talking, Maya remained silent. Most of what they were saying was quite general to hear in everyday conversations “How’s life been treating you?”, “What have you been up to?”, but something about the questions felt forced. Half of the time, she couldn’t even answer properly. 

“Sooo... How have you been?” Stella would ask, hands behind her back.

“Fine, I think? A little shaken up.” Oliva would say.

“Can’t blame you, who knows what Jesse did to you back there” Rose commented. Whatever that meant.

Some questions were odder and Olivia wasn’t sure if she should just respond with a “I don’t know” or lie through her teeth to get on the good side of these girls. Sure, they were acting pleasant to be around, but Olivia was waiting for one of them to slip up. All three of them hated her in one way or another, and having the three of them surrounding her, hiding her, AND taking her to a library--which could be a lie for all she knew--was setting off a million alarms. Even if all three of them had forgotten or had made amends with all of the past experiences they’ve had together, it still felt wrong to be so close to them, trying to talk to them as if they’ve been friends for so long.

“Did you miss this place?” Rose asked, arms folded casually. 

“I’m... I don’t know.” Olivia answered honestly.

“Yeah, nothing’s really memorable about Obsidian Town.” the red head chuckled. She asked another question, “How’re you feeling?”

“I asked that exact question not even five minutes ago!” Stella huffed.

“No, I asked her about how she’s FEELING, you asked about how she's been. Huge difference.”

“Do you want an honest answer?” Olivia asked, feeling the regret build up almost instantaneously. What if they gang up on her? Get angry? All she had to defend herself was the remains of a freaking lever.  
“Sure.” Rose gave a casual smile with her eyebrows lifting up.

Olivia felt a knot in her stomach, wishing Jesse was there by her side. 

“I feel like there’s this whole story going on that I just got shoved into. I’m just... Confused.”

There was no response at first, everyone avoiding staring at Olivia’s general direction. Stella let out a broken laugh.

“I suppose that’s... Normal, Considering what you’ve been through. But that’s why we’re here to help out.” Rose said as she shoved her hands into her pockets, looking more and more uneasy by the second.

“Oh I completely understand how you’re feeling. It just feels like you aren’t--or ANY of this is.... Real, you know? I’m just waiting to wake up or turn around one second and you just disappear! It’s all so surreal.” Stella flashed her a smile as if that was supposed to be reassuring. 

Olivia stared at Stella, not even sure how to follow up with that statement.  
“... What happened to me?”

Stella tapped her chin, “What happened to--Oh we don’t know either!” she flicked her hands up, “That’s why we’re getting some items from the library to find out!”

“I appreciate that but I don’t even know where I am or--or what’s going on!”

Stella’s smile began fading, “Well you remember US, don’t you?”  
She placed her hand on Olivia’s shoulder, her eyes begging Olivia to say “Yes”.

“I... I do but I think we’re on completely different pages.” Olivia didn’t want to outright tell all of them that they’ve all treated her terribly in the past in fear of making the situation more severe.

Rose spoke up, “When Aiden and I found the two of them at the temple, Jesse didn’t seem to remember anything besides who Aiden was.”  
She began pulling on a long lock of her hair and looked down, “I suggested that he might have amnesia. Maybe it was a side effect from the portal, but he dismissed it.”

“Are you implying that Olivia might also have amnesia?” Stella’s eyes widened, “Why didn’t you mention that earlier?!” 

Olivia didn’t know how to feel about literally being in the middle of an argument about her. It wasn’t a fun experience, that was a fact.

“Because Aiden and I weren’t sure! I’m still not sure! That’s why we’re heading over to the library!” Rose argued.

Before anything could spiral out of control, the small girl spoke up.

“When you all saw me, your reactions... You all looked like you saw a ghost. That’s not normal. What made you react like that?” Olivia felt Stella’s hand slide off of her and watched it fall to the girl’s side. 

Rose looked away again, as if that’d give her a pass from answering the question. Stella sealed her lips like she was forbidden from giving out a proper explanation. Olivia waited for one of them, ANY of them to reply.

“I...” Maya started but paused to think. “The best way I can put it? You’re not supposed to be here. That’s all.”

Olivia shook her head, that might’ve been an answer but it was still vague.

“That doesn-”

“That’s. ALL.” Maya raised her voice. 

Olivia stopped dead in her tracks, the other girls were as taken aback as Olivia was.  
Maya looked around to see the thrown off expressions on her friends' faces, she then scanned the area around them and noticed that a few bystanders had stopped to see what the commotion was about. They might have been farther from the liveliest area of their town, but there were still people around. People who don’t need to know what’s going on.

Maya sucked air in through her teeth, “I’m sorry, I didn’t- I’m sorry.” 

With guilt on her face, she turned around and shoved her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket. “We need to go. We’re almost there.”

She fell silent again as she continued walking with heavy steps.

Rose nudged Olivia along, “She’s right, we can talk about this later, okay?” 

Olivia began walking, but it felt slower somehow as she gave the girls beside her an anxious exchange before saying “... Okay.” 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“So,” Aiden started as he pulled two chairs out from under the kitchen table, Gill soon pulling out his own and sitting down. “You came through a portal that was in a jungle temple, right?”  
He asked as he leaned his upper body over one of the sturdy, dark brown wooden chair.

“That’s right.” Jesse nodded, taking off Olivia’s hat--which he had nearly forgotten about--and began fidgeting with its side straps.

“And how-” Aiden stopped.  
“Why don’t you sit down over here?” he suggested, tilting his head to the empty chair between him and Gill.

Jesse eyed the chair then Aiden.

“Sure...” He got off the couch, his eyes staying on the chair as he made his way over to it. Jesse remembered that Rose had lended him the extra pair of large, dark blue pants when he heard the bottoms of it rub against the wooden floor with each step. He really wants to take those off.  
Aiden watched Jesse with serious yet collected eyes, while Gill’s were much wider and suspicious.

Sitting down, Jesse instinctively gripped the seat with his fingers tightly.

Aiden reworded his question from before, “What was it like on the other side of the portal?”

“Well,” Jesse squirmed around, feeling Gill’s intense stare on him. There was no way to incorrectly answer this but Jesse felt as though saying the wrong thing could lead to awful reactions.  
“Olivia and I went through this kinda big jungle temple, I spotted it when I saw it glowing in the distance and wanted to check it out with her. There weren’t any mobs, the place itself was pretty beaten up. Lotta furniture and items broken or really dusty, redstone powder smeared everywhere. I uh... We saw a plank of wood with light pouring out of it,” Jesse pointed at the floor as if he were trying to recreate the experience. He hopped out of the chair and knelt down.

“We opened it and underneath was a thin staircase with an even thinner hallway,” he moved his arms in front of him parallely. 

“And we just... Ended up here.” he shrugged.

Gill seemed like he was still trying to picture the event, Aiden, however, understood and asked the next question.

“You had a home?”

“Yeah, it’s kind of like this town in a way? Though not as many revines or a shrine... Or a large, obsidian wall. Uhm, there are some temples and old mines here and there, though mostly a larger mining system. I used to live in a treehouse with my friends before we moved to Beacon Town. And uh--uhm...”  
Jesse fumbled with his words when struck with the realization that describing your hometown was quite difficult at--what was possibly--the worst time to find out. Beacon Town was great, he loved it, but he mostly remembered all the adventures or the events that had happened there rather than its appearance.

Aiden’s face shifted for a brief moment, almost looking confused or surprised. What made him react that way was unknown to Jesse, however.

“What kind of stupid name is Beacon town?” Gill laughed uncomfortably.

“I don’t see Obsidian Town winning any awards any time soon.” Jesse frowned and got up. 

Gill glared at him and stood up, “I bet you thinkin’ I’m gonna fall for some big fat lie, don’t you? That I’m too ‘stupid’ to know what’s goin’ on. Well I can see through this dumb lie of yours! Aiden-!” he turned to his friend, expecting back up, but saw him with his hand slightly up, as if motioning him to settle down.

“Gill,” Aiden breathed in, “We’re not sure if-”

“Not sure? But Jesse’s lived HERE all his life, YOU know that, I know that! And then- then he went missing and some portal activated--Aiden, come on!” Gill was clearly frustrated, close to fuming, even.

“Rose thought that too. I’m not saying I believe Jesse, I don’t,” Aiden glanced at the boy on the couch, “But if it turns out he didn’t activate the portal-- but just found and went through it, then we have a bigger problem in our hands. And we’ll probably need him.” 

“This is makin’ everythin’ so much harder than it should be!” Gill clenched his fists and heaved heavily. 

“I’m telling you the truth,” Jesse said, “I’ve never been here, I don’t know anything!”

“So you don’t remember ANYTHING about this place?” Gill stomped up to him, leaning close with teeth gritted.

“From what I’ve seen so far, it’s just a shrine, a barricaded--but friendly--town, and a whole lotta revines.” answered Jesse.

Gill licked his lips and breathed in, almost unsure about what he asked next,  
“Do you remember anything about us...?”

That was when things got tricky. He did know them. He’s had past experiences with everyone he’s met so far. But they’ve all been BAD experiences. What was he supposed to say? Was there any nice or softer way to explain?  
“... Kind of.” 

“That doesn’t make any sense! How could you remember us but not your own home-?!” before another tangent could break out, Aiden spoke up,

“Gill,” Aiden placed his hand on his friend’s chest, making him step back. Aiden stood tall and towered over Jesse, causing Jesse himself to shrink.

“What do you know about us?”

Jesse opened his mouth but stopped. He was beginning to wonder if this was an elaborate set up, how could Aiden not remember Sky City? Nearly killing him twice along with his friends and the founder. And even if Aiden decided to move past that, that still didn’t explain the bitter treatment from everyone else. He was being talked down to, shamed for something he had done but he doesn’t know WHAT, he wasn’t being treated like an enemy or rival, but like a villain. 

“Well, uh... Good question. Where to start…” he fixed his posture and adjusted the straps of his suspenders. ‘Don’t go crazy with the details,’ he told himself, ‘You’ll be here forever trying to explain everything.’

“You were a part of a gang called ‘The Ocelots’, but that changed into ‘The Blaze Rods’ over time. Gill was in it too but he didn’t really do much.”

Gill crossed his arms and furrowed his brow.

“I’m just saying what I know, don’t take it as a personal attack.” Jesse reminded him. “You used to be our rival gang, my friends and I would try to beat you at Ender Con every year but kept losing. Then one year, we almost won. I remember it pretty well, you were building a rainbow beacon, we decided to build this giant, wool creeper with fireworks, and people loved it. But you saw our build and broke something that held lava, you made it go everywhere! Our creation burnt down but I didn’t really care about that at the time, Rueben’s costume was on fire and… Yeah.”

“Really?” Aiden said, seemingly discontent. It was almost like he knew there was more to this story and waited for Jesse to continue. Should he? Jesse avoided direct eye contact with Aiden, debating whether or not he should explain the rest of their past interactions.

“Why would I lie about something like that?” Jesse laughed, “Do you think I just made up an entire story out of thin air? Why would I make up something that elaborate when I could’ve just said ‘I don’t remember?”

He leaned back and groaned, “I don’t know what I’d need to do for you to believe me, but if you wanted physical proof, unfortunately--for the both of us--that’s gonna be kinda hard.”  
Jesse dug his nails into the wood of the chair, brainstorming on what to say next.  
He was beginning to shake. 

Shake?

Aiden stood up and didn’t say a word. No one did. His cup began trembling, clinking against the table, the table itself started to shiver but quickly turned into a much more violent thrashing. “Oh great.” 

Jesse got out of the chair--which fell to the ground and began bouncing about as the ground shook more and more. The world let out a low rumble that fueled Jesse’s panic. He tried his best to remain standing, but that was impossible when the whole world was trying to knock you down. He saw Gill and Aiden grab onto the thick wooden pole, unfazed by the abrupt quake. The world let out a low rumble that fueled Jesse’s panic.

“Hey, it’s great that you’re being cool under this sort of situation, but what’s going on?!” The rumbling nearly drowned out Jesse’s question. 

Aiden, despite having no idea what he was just asked, responded “Just grab onto something, it’ll be over in a second.”

Jesse wobbled over to the pole and gripped it tighter and tighter like that’d somehow put a stop to the shaking. The clanking and thrashing of the dishes, books, and furniture boomed in Jesse’s ears. Everything sounded chaotic. Jesse was starting to wonder if he was exaggerating how extreme the quake was based on Aiden and Gill’s borderline nonchalant reactions.

But then, it stopped. It had to have lasted no more than thirty seconds, but it felt so much worse. 

Jesse cracked an eye open and, to his surprise, almost everything still stood. The bookshelves in the living room, the lamp, the few cabinets. The kitchen was fine as well, no cracks, nothing shattered, no plates fell. The only things that were on the ground were the chairs and Aiden’s cup. Jesse still held on to the pole, processing what had just happened in a matter of seconds.

“Right, anyways…” Aiden let go and picked up his cup along with a chair. Gill helped out.

“Anyways?! The world thrashed us around violently--out of NOWHERE--and you’re acting like it was no big deal!” Jesse stammered.

“Yeah… It’s just a quake.” Aiden said as if that was to be expected.

Jesse watched the two set the chairs back up, eyes still wide, still trying to make sense of everything.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Olivia had gotten lost in her own thoughts, no longer paying attention or attempting to see her surroundings. Instead, she kept her head down, looking at the ground and watching her feet. She’s noticed that the farther they walked from Obsidian Town, the colder the air got. She was thankful that Aiden had given her his leather jacket. Thick trees began replacing the buildings on the sides of the path, the path would look more damaged and worn down with each step, moss peaking through the crooked cracks.  
Any conversation had come to an end and Olivia couldn’t help but feel bad for making the atmosphere much more gloomy than it was earlier.

“Ah, hello girls!” a voice greeted them cheerfully. 

Maya stopped in her tracks and Olivia--who wasn’t paying attention--ran right into her. She rubbed her black hair down, trying to control the frizz going on. 

“Great to see ya again this fine evenin’!” The man--a guard--said, tipping his murky green service cap.

It felt nice to finally hear another person’s voice. Looking up, Olivia was able to see the towering structure about them. It was a few stories high, resembling an old, smaller, medieval tower that was... A pale color that reminded her of quartz or sandstone. There wasn’t much light to illuminate the building except for the two front lights on both sides of the door, and that was just the front entrance.  
She was able to see the top just fine, not that that really helped at all. The roof was flat and sort of... Noticeably crooked? The place had seen better days.  
The shape of the library almost reminded her of those castle towers--they had a specific name to them--a square stone keep? Either way, she’d see those in many books about structures from hundreds of years ago, so it was interesting to see bits of it in person.

“Hey Logan, just the three of us. Aiden wanted us to look for something.” Rose said to the guard while motioning towards the group.

“Alright, just remember to return whatever it is you borrow! And remember...” He nodded slowly but something caught his eye as his words drifted away. He attempted to peer in between the girls, noticing movement in between them. Rose saw and poked Maya’s arm, who turned her head towards the red head; Cassie pointed to the man.

“Aright, just remember to return whatever it is you borrowed! And remember, it’s a full moon tonight, so be careful!”

“We gotta go, we can’t take too long.” Maya said in a harsh tone and walked quickly towards the library’s entrance without giving Logan a second thought as she pushed him to the side. The other girls huddled together and followed behind.  
Olivia, while being hurried into the library, was able to catch a glimpse of an old, cracked sign above the doorway, “St. Stephen’s”.

Logan scratched his head and shouted behind them “Be careful! Tonight’s a full moon!”

“Thanks, Logan~!” Stella beamed, waving to the guard before going back to her friends and scoffing “Does he think we’re blind? I’m pretty sure I know when a rock in the sky is ‘full’.”  
They all chuckled.

Walking through the entrance, towering columns made of stone, cracked and worn away by age, held the building strong as it must have done so many years ago.  
Walking in, she saw the cobblestone floor, chunks missing and the surface rigidity from how many have walked on it in the past. 

The books were placed in sturdy, dark oak shelves that stood several feet proudly. Her eyes trailed up from the shelves and followed the wide staircase that led to the second floor with even more books. Long vines hung from the rails of the dark oak and spruce stairs, the rails themselves were made up of stone, which would fade into stone bricks and then to the columns to support such big stairs, some were covered in moss like a fine, thick carpet. There was another staircase that probably led to another floor full of books. As the girls walked down the path, dark wooden slabs placed on each side helped refine the shape and allowed it to stand out from the rest of the floor instead of merging them together and creating a jumbled mess. 

There seemed to be four paths that met at the center of the building, one North, East, and West, but the South path had another entrance--an exit?-- that was blocked off by debris that must’ve been caused by a storm of some sort.

Where the paths met, there was a large square shape in the center of the library, bringing a sense of symmetry and completion.

The girls stopped at the center and spoke in whispers; Olivia looked up and saw an enormous wooden chandelier, candles lit and gleaming brightly like stars in a cold, dead night. The candles--which emitted a warm, red glow--could only light up a majority of the third floor and slowly faded farther down, keeping the first floor mostly consumed in darkness. Regardless, it helped the place feel calming and secure with such a wonderful, faint glow.

Olivia breathed in the mixed fragrance of old books and dampened wood. An odd combination that lead to such a specific sense of nostalgia. It almost reminded her of way back when; when her and Jesse used to live together in that old tree house of theirs.

“Alright,” Cassie Rose spoke up, “The type of books we’ll most likely need to look for is anything about portals-”

“Duh.” Stella commented.

“Maybe books about summoning or banishment if possible, maybe a book about The Hero’s Banishment itself and... Hm...” Rose began biting the top of her lips as she tried to conjure up any other possible targets for them to search for.

“Do you think books about old crafts might be useful?” Olivia suggested, wanting to contribute to the situation even by a little bit.

“Anything helps. I can search the second floor.” Rose stated.

Stella started walking to one of the many rows of shelves past the girls, “I’ll see what I can find on the first floor.” 

“I’ve got third.” Maya said before heading towards the stairs.

Olivia stood alone with Rose, they would exchange a few glances, but none of them knew what to say. Olivia played with her hair as Cassie Rose took off her glasses to clean them with her shirt.

“I’ll-” the both of them started before quickly stopping.

“You first.” Rose insisted.

She tucked her hair behind her ears, “Sorry--But if it’s alright with you, I could join you upstairs?”

Rose’s face lit up some, “Sure, I don’t see why not.” 

Rose made her way up wooden stairs, her steps and the creaking of the wood echoed throughout the place which made Olivia cringe. Every library she’s ever been to, heck, any older place she’s ever stepped foot in, she’s always tried to be as quiet as possible. It felt like a sign of respect.  
Even though the four of them were probably the only ones to be in this ancient place, she still tip-toed her way up, falling a bit behind Cassie Rose.

Despite how cracked and rough the stairs appeared to be, they were surprisingly sturdy. There were planks of wood missing, but you could easily walk around or over them thanks to how wide the staircase was.  
Olivia looked past the stone railings and out upon the sea of bookcases; they were all set up so carefully, all in long, neat rows that would stop when they’d reach the one of the four paths. But seeing them so aligned made her worry that if one tipped over, it’d cause a domino effect.  
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Stella’s arm, the purple sleeve to her suit and all. She was grabbing a thin, dark red book from the very top shelf. Rose had already reached the top of the stairs and was already approaching the large shelves that the second level had to offer.

Olivia grabbed onto the smooth rails but felt her hand shaking. Was she nervous? Cold? She gripped the rails tighter. 

She wasn’t shaking.

It started as a quick tremble but soon turned into a violent thrashing. The stairs swayed as if they were in the violent, unforgiving heart of the ocean, the bookcases remained in place thankfully but still shivered terribly, books fell to the ground, their thick covers hitting the ground with loud smacking sounds which mixed with the unholy, thunderous booms and groaning from the library itself. Rose held onto one of the large, stone columns, looking more frustrated than frightened.  
Olivia clutched onto the railings and squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that the quake would come to an end.

As the columns shook, a low rumbling sound could be heard, soon followed by a loud cracking sound that pierced Olivia’s ears. The railing she once held onto with her dear life crumbled into millions of pieces; she lost her balance and felt herself soon falling, unable to catch herself as everything around her felt as if it was moving forward faster.

She heard someone shout her name as she prepared herself for a terrible impact, when all of the sudden...

Everything stopped.

The shaking, the loud rumbles, even her falling. 

Opening her eyes, she found Rose grabbing her hand--practically crushing it--while her other hand held onto what remained of the railings to prevent herself from being dragged down by Olivia’s weight. 

“I gotcha...” Rose grunted. She used both of her hands to pull Olivia back up, her grip was strong as her long nails dug into the girl’s arm. 

Olivia tried to reach the staircase with her free hand to help Rose hoist her up so she wouldn’t be dangling uselessly. Once her hand felt the rugged wooden steps, she held on to it securely, hoping she wouldn’t get any bits of wood jabbed into her.

Taking a few steps back, Rose successfully brought the girl back up to the floor. Olivia looked back at the drop and her vision blurred some. It wasn’t a massive fall, but it was enough to cause a good amount of damage. Maybe crack her head open? Break a leg?  
She saw parts of the column beneath her reduced into chunks of rocks scattered across the floor.

‘Don’t worry, it’s over with, you’re fine.’ Olivia reassured herself, her breath fast as she tried to recollect her thoughts that zoomed all around.

“You okay?” Rose brought Olivia back to reality, who nodded rapidly. 

“Yea... Yes, thanks. Thank you.” she said, still shaken up. “I think that’s enough excitement for today.”

Maya looked down, leaning over the stone fence that surrounded the edge of the third floor, “You good???” her voice boomed through the hollow area.

“Yeah, some quake huh?” Rose said back, her head looking high up at her friend who didn’t really hear what she said clearly but nodded anyways and continued her book search.

“Can’t believe it took so long for this old place to finally fall apart some.” Stella chimed in. 

‘Why are they acting like this is so normal,’ Olivia thought to herself as she watched the girls converse at completely different areas of the large library. ‘I’ve never felt the ground shake so much before. That was insane.’

Footsteps from the entrance could be heard along with huffs and puffs of air. Logan rushed in and zipped his head about; he froze when he saw the pieces of the stair’s support smashed. Adjusting his cap, he made his way over to the small scene to observe the damage that’d been done.  
A long sigh left his mouth, “Well, I suppose it was only a matter of time... It’s going to take a little while to rebuild this but,” he gave a comforting smile “I’m glad to see you’re all in one piece!”

Logan speed walked back to where he came from,  
“I’m going to alert the others about this, be safe!” his voice trailed off before he was out of sight.

He came and went so suddenly that no one had any time to respond. But there were other things to worry about. Olivia ran over to Rose’s side, attempting to regain her cool as quickly as the others just... Couldn’t. Throughout all of the adventures she’s been through, despite everything that she’s seen and experienced, she would still get so... Frightened, to put it nicely. If she had more time to prepare for these sorts of situations or was just better prepared in general, she’d be able to save herself or make herself useful instead of following everyone around like a lost puppy. But for now, there was nothing to work with, that’s why she needed to take full advantage of this current location.

“Hey, Rose, thanks for saving me back there again.” 

“Cassie, you can call me Cassie Rose,” Rose said as she picked up a small stepping stool leaning against one of the bookcases and holding it against her chest, walking through the rows filled with thousands of books.

Olivia, a bit taken aback, “Shoot, I’m sorry-”

“No, no, no! Don’t be, I didn’t mean it in a bad way, we’re friends--even if you don’t exactly remember--my point is: You can call me Rose if you’d like.”

Each case had a little label--which contained specific orders of numbers and letters to keep everything organized--placed into the smooth, dark oak shelves. And right above those were thin, wooden strips of a lighter color nailed in. There were words written on them, some far more faded than others, but they were most likely labels to show which genre was where. Rose would scan the worn down signs as she walked.

“You probably got a little mixed up cause Aiden calls me that, didn’t you? He’s the only one that calls me that. Except a few other close friends but they rarely call me that...” She took a sharp turn to the left and caught Olivia off guard, causing her to skid to a halt and stumble her way around the corner to catch up. 

Rose carried on, “Aiden’s pretty bad with names, he could only remember mine cause of my red hair. And it just sorta... Stuck with him.” 

Pushing up her glasses up and setting the stool down, Cassie Rose began muttering the names under her breath while skimming the hundreds of titles before her. Olivia felt a strange presence in the red head’s voice. It sounded almost as if she were talking to a child with a more gentle tone compared to the cold, harshness that was delivered to Radar earlier.  
Rose hoped up on the stool and grabbed a couple of books with titles that caught her attention and started piling them into her arms. She made her way down the row of dusty shelves, her hair would sometimes brush the tips of some of the shelves, causing dust to fly into the air and trail behind her.

Rose started out with three books. Which soon turned into five.

Then to eight.

Then to--

“Crud-!” Rose felt her foot get stuck in a small hole that blended in with the dark, old wooden floor resulting in her books flying across the thin hall. Cassie luckily saved herself by grabbing onto a nearby case, but watched the books fall and slam into the ground as their loud landings echoed. Olivia felt her face scrunch up.

Cassie Rose wasted no time.

She pushed up her glasses, sat down, and hurriedly picked them up. 

Olivia joined in and started piling the books by her side. 

“Let me carry some, I don’t want you to do all the work.” she said as she’d read the titles of whatever she could get her hands on.

“Thanks.” Cassie said through the sound of books shuffling.

Most of the books that Olivia could get her hands on were on the thinner side but were heavily worn down. While age did have a factor on the books’ duller colors, yellowed pages, and weakened spines, it was clear that these were used and checked out possibly hundreds of times. The old pages had been smoothed down, odd stains and blotches would decorate the covers while rips and tears would also stretch across them.

“The Progression of Portals”, a lightweight, purple and red book with a vague shape of a nether portal etched into the front.

“The Combinations of Enchantments” had it the worst out of the three books. Half of the title was torn and a giant, dark brown stain made it look as if that were its color.

The last book was nothing too interesting. Just a pale red cover, the book itself was filled with crafting recipes. However, it was written nearly a century ago. Suppose THAT’S interesting enough to warrant a raised eyebrow. 

Neatly stacking the books, she carefully lifted the tower up and carefully balanced it as it leaned against her chest. Cassie Rose did the same, albeit in a sloppier manner.  
She continued to select whatever caught her eye but walked slower, not wanting to recreate the same incident. 

Olivia followed behind, a strand of her black hair got in her face and bounced about but she paid no mind to it as she felt a question make its way out of her mouth.

“Can I ask you something?” 

“Just did.” Cassie stated.

She rolled her eyes and couldn’t help but smile. 

“Hilarious. But what was with that horrible earthquake back there? Thanks again for saving me but none of you were too shaken up by it.”

Cassie Rose flashed her a quick confused and surprised look--as if Olivia had unknowingly said something derogatory--before picking up another book from the top of a shelf, gnawing the inside of her cheek lightly. 

She blew some air out before spinning on her heel to face Olivia and continued to walk backwards. 

“You know... Full moon? Quakes are the worst during a full or new moon. That’s why Logan gave us that warning. I mean it happens every night but that’s normal. Happens all the time.” She spoke as if this was supposed to spark something in Olivia’s mind.

Olivia shook her head as her hair batted her eyes, “I’m sorry. I don’t.”  
There was an odd sense of guilt she felt even when she was speaking the truth. Watching Rose’s face fall and attempting to put it back together made her feel worse. Maybe she needed a reassuring lie to keep her moving, but as much Olivia hated the queasy stomach aches produced by her honesty, she knew lying wouldn’t make anything better.

Rose forced a chuckle out with no smile to accompany it. 

“What? Are you serious? I thought you would! You were the one who helped us make a house structure sturdy enough to withstand the shaking!”

“I’ve never been to your house until tonight. It felt like walking into a strangers home-”

“Yes you have, Olivia. You’ve lived with us for years, can’t you try to recall anything at all?” Rose trembled, clearly holding more back with barely enough strength to do so.

“I don’t--”

“YES YOU DO. You SHOULD.” Rose rushed to Olivia’s face, her eyes unblinking and pleading.

“You lived with us, you’ve been with us for years--Are we THAT forgettable?” 

Rose gripped the books as she tried to restrain herself. She knew that getting upset wouldn’t help, that it wouldn’t change the situation, but she couldn’t stop herself from venting to the clueless girl.

“I’m your friend and--And the fact you didn’t even... You didn’t even recognize me! Do you know how much that hurts?” her voice fell into a weary state.

Olivia blinked. Fazed by Cassie’s sudden burst but remained silent for a moment. There was nothing she could do, say, or think of that could comfort her.

“I don’t.” Olivia admitted.

She carefully set the books down and put hands in the pockets of the leather jacket. 

“I think I’m going to walk around here... Just to have some time to myself.” Olivia didn’t wait for a response, instead, she turned and started walking--almost wanting to run away--from Cassie Rose. 

Olivia heard Cassie’s defeated voice echo through the dim, hollow library.

“You do that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO sorry that this chapter took so long! I was writing it back in October, but then a lotta events popped up, then holidays, then more junk >: (  
Then when I finally got back to writing it, I decided that it was kinda "bleh" so I rewrote a majority of it!! The original chapter was about 40+ pages long but I had a wonderful friend convince me to make the next 20 pages into Chapter 6!
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this chapter and THANK YOU so much for being patient with me!!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter went through went through a lot of changes so it took a bit longer than expected! As always, thank you for being so patient with me and I hope you enjoy the story! <3

“So...” Aiden placed his coffee cup on the kitchen table and stood up to finally stretch, “That’s what you know about us, huh?”

“Mm-hm.” Jesse nodded, still seated.

“And Gill and I were a couple of ‘bullies’ huh?” his voice had a sense of relief to it, like he was expecting much worse to come from Jesse’s mouth.

“Yup.”

“And if I asked Olivia about this she’d respond with a similar answer?” 

“... More or less?” Jesse avoided eye contact with Aiden and Gill, who still didn’t seem fully convinced.

Gill spoke up “You look like you’re holdin’ somethin’ back.” scanning Jesse as if he expected more information to make itself visible.

Jesse felt himself getting sweaty like he was caught red handed in a lie. His throat got tight but he tried to push away his worries. He didn’t ‘lie’, in fact, he told the truth. Some truth. He had only told the two about the minor harassment that had happened before Jesse became “The New Order of the Stone”. The name calling, ruining his creation back at Endercon, Jesse believed that was enough for Aiden to paint the whole picture.  
‘Besides,’ Jesse thought to himself, ‘If I shared EVERY detail about everyone here, we’d be here for hours.’ he breathed in, reassuring himself. 

“Well we can’t necessarily prove him wrong,” Aiden said “And--as vague as he was--everything sounded too specific to be a lie.” 

“So what? We’re just gonna believe him till we have more proof?” 

“Unless you have any better ideas, yes.” Aiden said, not sounding too fond of the idea either. 

The three were still in silence with Aiden thinking to himself once again. He found himself trying to force his mind to believe everything he had been told was all made up. It sounded fake--an ‘Endercon’, being in some silly rival gang--but it didn’t feel like a lie. When Jesse explained his side, there was an odd sense of genuineness to it, and as much as Aiden was waiting for his brain to set off any alarms as the story was being told, they remained untouched and soundless.  
‘It couldn’t be the truth.’ Aiden thought, ‘It all sounded like a half baked lie.’ but his gut was saying otherwise.

Jesse, admittedly, was a bit confused and unsettled that neither Aiden nor Gill had uttered a word about what they knew about Jesse. They were very open about their anger towards him, restraining him twice knowing he’d attack and accused him of being crazy. ‘Like Gill said,’ Jesse thought, his face concentrated as it stared in no general direction, ‘It feels like they’re holding something back.’

“What should we do now? I feel bad for standin’ around doin’ nothin’.” Gill spoke up, getting the attention of the others. He talked in a noticeably slower manner; Jesse must have forgotten what Gill and his irritating voice was like. It was like he couldn’t quite grasp what he was told so he spoke close to the pace of a turtle just in case realization struck him half way through.

“Yeah.” Aiden agreed. “I was thinking we could kill two birds with one stone and head over to Hadrian’s now. I don’t want to wait until tomorrow with the risk of not getting anything valuable at all. Especially if there’s a much bigger issue at hand.” 

Gill stood up and pushed his chair in, “Sounds good to me. It’ll be a quick trip. But...” he leaned against the dark brown dining table and turned his head to Jesse in an uncomfortable position, “What should we do with him? Lock ‘em here?” 

Aiden made his way to the window in the living room and peered through it, watching the buildings and the people who went in and out of them. He thought about Rose and wondered if she and the others were able to make it to the library.

He sighed and hesitantly said “No. As much as I don’t want to do this, we’ll have to bring Jesse along with us.”

“What--” Gill started but halted as Aiden began his explanation.

“It’d be two of us watching over one of him, plus when we get to Hadrian’s, that’ll be two extra sets of eyes on him. And let’s say he IS lying about all this...” Aiden circled around Jesse like a shark. Gill nodded along.  
“If we leave him here, he’d break or steal our items, escape, get himself or other people hurt, a whole bunch of risks I’m not willing to take.”

“Yeah! ‘N we can beat ‘em up if he acts up!” Gill said a little too enthusiastically as he cracked his knuckles.

Jesse peeped, “Can I get a say in where I-”

“No!” Aiden and Gill responded simultaneously. Jesse jumped by the sudden, angered answer.

“I just don’t want anything stupid to happen that we could’ve prevented.” Aiden ended his explanation on an unnatural note; it seemed like he wanted to say more but decided against it. He left the kitchen, Gill watched on but Jesse remained seated. Just to be safe.

‘Anything stupid… that we could’ve prevented’, those words bounced back and forth in Jesse’s mind.  
‘Oh jeez, Olivia!” a surge of realization and panic ran through his body and the need to run out to find his friend had to be repressed. He couldn’t up and leave with Aiden and Gill watching him but an awful, rising feeling of anxiousness kept commanding him to escape.  
Because if anything happened to her, it’d be on him for never checking on her, asking if her heading off with three known enemies was a safe idea or okay with her, or heck, even giving her a reassuring thumbs up could’ve made a difference. How could he keep quiet when Olivia volunteered to go along with those girls? Maybe everything was happening too fast and he was so caught up and confused in the mess he didn’t register what Olivia was doing. She can handle herself, they’ve been in worse situations but he felt like an awful friend regardless.  
‘She’s gonna be fine.’ he told himself, ‘If she wanted to join them, there had to have been a reason for it.’

“Hey,” Jesse turned to Aiden who held the door open, “Let’s get a move on.” he tilted his head towards the outside world.

Gill grabbed Jesse’s arm with a bone-crushing grip and lifted him off of his chair, causing it to fumble over to the ground. Both Jesse and Aiden seemed a bit off guard by his sudden action.

“Gill! Don’t--That isn’t necessary, thank you.”  
Gill took note of Aiden’s tone and let go of Jesse, looking ashamed.  
“I know you mean well but we don’t have to attack him unless he starts… Freaking out.”

“Yeah, I can get up myself, thanks.” Jesse hissed as he held his aching arm. 

Gill scratched the back of his neck and grinded his teeth before saying “I’m sorry, it’s just the girls always tell me to be more rough ‘n I didn’ know if you wanted th’same...”  
Aiden groaned ‘Of course they did.’  
He spoke up again, “You know what, that’s alright, misunderstandings happen. Not our biggest concern right now.” he motioned towards Jesse, “If you want to move him along--carefully--you can. Just to make sure he doesn’t run off.” 

Gill, without hesitation, shoved Jesse along as he walked and apparently had the strength to push him forward with ease. His large hand on Jesse’s back was enough to move him out of the house and to the front gate in seconds without Jesse needing to take a single step. The second they reached the end of the yard, Gill immediately stopped pushing and let Jesse fall to the cold, stone road with a loud thud. Jesse rubbed his jaw and shook the hair out of his face while glaring at Gill as he continued walking at a slow pace, facing the house and waiting for his friend to catch up. 

Jesse sat up and heard footsteps come from behind; definitely Aiden. He didn’t need to turn around, he didn’t even need to glance at Aiden, he could practically feel his mouth open to release a judgemental comment. 

“Again,” Jesse said as he pushed himself up, “I can get up myself.” He followed Gill to where their yard ended and the path began, not giving a second of his time to Aiden.

Aiden joined the other two and scanned the street, seeing if there were any individuals or groups of people near their destination. He focused on a small, one story, wooden oak building. Compared to the other taller, more refined buildings with their sturdy bricks, stone, concrete, and obsidian and their bright lights inside that beamed through the windows and illuminated the streets, the tiny structure had vines that started from the roof and ended at the ground and was banged up with chunks missing here and there. It was a miracle that it was still standing.  
The little building was nearly hidden by the surrounding ones and the only thing that kept it from completely disappearing was a small, lit lamp that hung from the overhang, swaying gently with the breeze.

‘Is it even open?’ Jesse thought to himself, leaning in slightly to study the building a bit better. It didn’t even have a sign. And maybe it was because it was placed between the--what appeared to be--the giant public library and the blacksmith he caught a glimpse of earlier, but it looked exceptionally tiny. He hadn’t even stepped foot into the place and he already felt cramped in there.

Then a thought crept from the back of Jesse’s head, ‘Will I know Hadrian?’ He wasn’t thinking about it too much before, but it finally clicked with him why that name rang a faint bell: Hadrian from The Games. It had been such a long time. ‘He’s not the only Hadrian in this world, it could be anybody...’

“Hey-!” Jesse felt someone’s hand grab his and squeeze it before dragging him behind them, giving him no other choice but to move his feet, his shoes scraping the pavement with each step. 

“Head down and don’t say anything.” Aiden whispered loud enough for Jesse to catch; he took bigger steps which made walking with him feel like a marathon. 

As Aiden kept his focus on the little building, Gill kept his on Jesse. Not that he had to, as the brunette did what he was told and wasn’t too fond of starting conflict tonight of all nights. He hated staring at the floor though. If he wasn’t looking at the face of someone that hated him, he was staring at the ground. It didn’t help that the surroundings seemed to tease him with the sounds of people talking, doors closing, or any signs that the world was lived in and he was prohibited from seeing it.

Luckily, the journey only took two minutes at most and the trio came to a stop. Jesse brushed strands of hairs out of his eyes and carefully lifted his head up, unsure he was allowed to do anything without Aiden and Gill’s explicit permission.  
Jesse was used to being the “leader” in one way or another, and he didn’t mind listening to other figures in charge as long as it meant he could help, but something about being bossed around by Aiden of all people didn’t sit with him well. He felt that he was being talked down to, given basic commands that you’d give to a dog. It was almost humiliating. 

As Gill and Aiden had a quiet exchange, Jesse blocked them out and he scanned the place for a label, sign, anything that’d hint at what this place might be.  
The front door of the old building? Well, the door looked like the only decent part of the exterior. The only visible window was a little one on the door that probably allowed people to peek through to see the inside, but it was covered up by the curtains on the other side and an “OPEN” sign with its once bold colors faded from the sun’s light. How welcoming.

“...And hopefully we’ll get something useful. Got it?” Aiden asked, Jesse whirled his head back to them.

“You bet!” Gill gave his friend two thumbs up. 

“Jesse?” 

“Right!” Jesse responded on command, absolutely unaware of what they were talking about. 

Aiden smoothed his hair down and went to zip up his leather jacket; he stopped himself, remembering where it was and huffed to himself, a little embarrassed as the two watched the scene play out.

“Alright,” Aiden shifted their attention onto the more important matter. “I’ll go in first, Jesse...” he stared at the curly haired boy while trying to come up with a quick solution, “You’re between Gill and I.” 

Aiden opened the door, a bell tied around the other side of the rusted door knob jingled until it soon hit the wall.

Jesse stepped in, feeling Gill squeeze himself in and closing the door behind him. The cool air was replaced by a muggy one. Two large shelves on both sides of the room that touched the low ceiling gave Jesse the impression that they’ve been boxed in; that if they spent any more than a couple of minutes here, they’d suffocate. Aiden and Gill’s height and broad shoulders squishing against him were not easing out this feeling. 

“Who is it?” a raspy yet smooth voice shouted from somewhere. 

“Aiden! I brought some friends.” Aiden shouted back as he moved forward. 

Jesse was hoping that the rest of the place wasn’t as confined as the entrance and he’d have enough space to look around or even stand comfortably without Gill breathing on the back of his neck. Jesse observed the shelves, noticing the variety of objects that were shoved into them without any thought, looking as cramped as he felt. Nothing about the objects was consistent. Not the sizes, nor purpose or material. You would have an old journal next to a sharpened sword, or a helmet sitting by a lump of coal. Some items had a small strip of paper tied to them with prices scribbled on. ‘Okay, so this is someone’s store.’ Jesse thought to himself. He breathed in and got a noseful of the earthy smell that consumed the area, it sort of reminded him of ‘An antique store?’

“Oh, Aiden!” a cheerful, feminine disembodied voice spoke. “Is Gill with you?” 

“Yep. And... Someone else.” Aiden muttered the last part while sucking in his gut to make it through the end of the cluttered barrier of shelves, trying not to knock any of the items over. 

“I’ll be there in juuust a second, boy.” the raspy voice said, followed by a loud crashing sound. “Minute.”

Jesse slipped out of the awkward hall and stood on the left of Aiden with Gill on the right. To the left of the three, there was a counter with a cash register that looked relatively cleaned. Jesse scanned the rest of the place and the first thing that caught his attention were the amount of white candles lit and scattered throughout the area. From stubby to slender, their delicate flames danced about and lit the organized chaos surrounding them.  
Jesse peered over the end of the right bookshelf and managed to see a decently sized stage that took up a quarter of the already small store, it was made of the dirtied spruce wood as the floor and stood only two feet tall.

There was an oak podium with a candle on top of it. The podium was in fine condition compared to the quality of everything else Jesse’s eyes landed on. The stage was awfully cluttered too; books, swords, and broken remains of statues stood on there. The statues, as fractured as they were, seemed to be based on the same person. A man who wore nothing extravagant but a plain t-shirt, long pants, and battered shoes. Though some statues had bits of variation to them. One of them, which only had the man’s torso, head, and right arm, had him holding a bow high into the air as he looked in the same direction. Another one was just the legs, but there was a sculpted sword that laid beside him.  
They looked a bit unnerving, they almost reminded him of the face he saw in that temple earlier. The lack of color didn’t help. 

Facing the stage were two rows of several chipped, cushioned chairs set up similarly to a classroom. Some chairs had a pile of books beside or on top of them.  
The rest of the place? Nearly impossible to decipher. Walls were covered with papers and post-it notes, any sort of drawers, shelves, and desks that could be made out had been engulfed and surrounded by more... Junk. Could it be classified as junk? Some items are or could be useful, such as armors on stands that could be spotted, pickaxes, but then you’d have rocks. Actual rocks sitting around, abused books, worn boots; if someone sneezed, the whole place could collapse. 

The mess was... Worrisome. With all these candles around, it’s a wonder how a fire hasn’t started yet.

The only areas that were actually clean and spacious were the counter and a small clearing on the opposite side of the stage. There were stacked boxes, instead of a mess, that seemed to frame around an older, oak door that was wide open. Jesse was able to make out the end of a bed, ‘Okay, so it’s someone’s house AND a store. Weird.’

Suddenly, a figure stepped out of the doorway and Jesse felt his brain shut down for a moment as the exact person he feared to see appeared. Hadrian. The same long, purple checkered robe with those small, thin, tinted glasses that sat close to the edge of his nose. His white, slightly curled hair contrasted the dreary, brown washed interior of the house-store.

He adjusted his robe to fit comfortably with his bright golden inner dress and began heading towards the counter, picking up a book that sat on top of one of the stacked boxes and flipped through it, skimming the contents and not paying much attention to the walk-ins. 

He adjusted his robe to fit comfortably with his bright golden inner dress and began heading towards the counter, picking up a book that sat on top of one of the stacked boxes and flipped through it, skimming the contents and not paying much attention to the walk-ins. 

Hadrian glanced at the trio with a smile on his face, “Aiden, Gill--Oh, and Jesse! What brings you fine boys here today?” 

He placed the book into the already disorganized bookshelf next to Gill, “Sorry about that little wait, Mevia and I have been tryin’ to clean this old place up for once!” he chuckled to himself.

“Come in, come in! You’re always welcomed here! Mevia will be out with us in a split second.” Hadrian motioned them to come on in, the boys followed behind, still cautious with their surroundings. Jesse couldn’t force himself to be at ease, despite the warmest welcome he’s received all night, his body remained tense. This was going too smooth. Even Gill and Aiden were put off by Hadrian’s reaction, they watched him intensely as they followed, waiting for the eruption.

“The girls aren’t with ya today?” Hadrian asked.

Aiden sat stiffly in the back row of the chairs, resting his elbow on the top slat in an attempt to make himself relax. “Nope, went to the library.”  
Gill plopped himself right next to Aiden, his back slouched over as he kept watching Hadrian. Jesse hesitantly sat a few seats away from them and was caught off guard by how uncomfortable and rigid the chairs were. What deceiving cushions.

Hadrian’s mind seemed occupied with everything else BUT the boys, his eyes wouldn’t focus on a set subject and he ran into a chair, knocking it over. He huffed to himself and picked it up, “Gill, you missed our little--our lesso... Our...”  
His sentence began to trail off and he stumbled on his words until he fell silent, staring at the chair blankly.

He whirled his head around and scanned the boys again. Aiden, Gill... 

Jesse saw the gears turning quickly and the realization hitting in Hadrian’s eyes. He had to do something--anything--to ease the moment!

“Hi?” was all Jesse could manage to say with an awkward wave.

“SWEET STEVE ABOVE US! MEVIA, IT’S JESSE!” Hadrian ran over to the stage then stomped full force into a wooden plank, causing it to flip up and reveal a chest underneath the section of the floor. He opened it and whipped out a loaded crossbow in the blink of an eye and aimed it at Jesse’s head.  
All the boys were caught by surprise, Aiden and Gill flinched but remained seated unlike Jesse who shot up and reached behind his back to grab his sword--only to remember Cassie Rose took it from him earlier. He cussed to himself. 

“I’m getting the impression I’m not well liked here.” Jesse whispered, keeping his eyes on the crossbow.

“Good guess.” Gill said.

Rushing footsteps could be heard pounding the ground throughout the building, but the person--Mevia--remained hidden in the shadows. Everyone was on guard.

Aiden stood up and rotated his body to wherever the sound was coming from, still remaining in one place. Sword or no sword, Jesse didn’t want to be a sitting duck. He dug his feet into the ground and curled his hands to fists, head whipping around frantically, readying himself. His senses were in full swing; he became immersed by his surroundings, every rustling paper, every flick of a flame, nothing was missed. Then the steps came to a stop. Jesse thought--no--was certain that they ended right by the counter, she must be hiding behind it. He turned his head carefully towards the counter while still keeping Hadrian’s weapon in sight. 

And maybe, maybe he was getting paranoid, but he swore he saw movement.  
Should he head towards there, sit back down, talk? Or maybe he could--

“MOVE!” Aiden barked and shoved Jesse to the floor. Olivia’s green hat covered his eyes as he fell but this time Jesse managed to catch himself and didn’t hurt his face for the umpteenth time tonight. 

‘I’m starting to feel like I’m getting to know the floor better than anyone else here.’ Jesse grumbled to himself.

A loud crack shot through his ears.

Jesse barely lifted the hat up to see the sharpened blade of a diamond axe centimeters away from his face. Its pronounced shade of blue shined from the candles’ lights, and the axe’s blade was lodged into the wood flooring standing at an angle, its handle inches above Jesse’s head.

“Well, that’s one way to hand out a souvenir.” Jesse attempted to lighten the mood.

Aiden, while not too thrilled with Jesse’s comedic timing, scanned Jesse’s body to make sure he wasn’t hit anywhere then turned to the direction where the axe was thrown and shouted “MEVIA!”

On the far right of the store, where a large, unstable bookshelf stood, a crouched figure shifted and caused it to rattle. “Hi, Aiden!” the cheerful voice greeted him from the top.  
The figure leaped off and the weak lighting revealed Mevia herself. Brushing her long, dull blue hair out of her face and patting down her black dress--with the bottom quarter red--to get the dust off of her with one hand, the other holding a second axe.  
“I know you mean well, but could you not move him next time? Thank you!”

Jesse rolled away from the axe as the little get together took place, ‘Looks like they’re friendly with each other.’

“You know how I--” Aiden was about to begin when Hadrian cut him off.  
“And YOU know how we feel about THAT boy being in OUR house.” Hadrian jabbed his finger into Aiden’s chest while his other hand still held the crossbow with no signs of tiring out.  
“Unless you brought him here to settle the issue out ourselves, I’d recommend you put him back in that cell where he belongs!”

“I actually have a reason for bringing him here this time.” Aiden’s vexed tone began mixing with a defensive one.

Hadrian shifted his head up but kept his eyes on Jesse, prompting Aiden to keep going.

“We went to the Shrine Of Eyes, saw him there, he doesn’t seem to remember much except... Well, me.” He kept it short, he didn’t want to keep repeating the same story unless he was asked for more details.

Hadrian let out a scoff, “So you forgot about EVERYTHING?”

Jesse sat up and brushed the hair out of his face, “Not necessarily ‘forgotten’, more like... I don’t know what’s going on.”

The old man chuckled and shook his head, “Well, I do say, this is definitely abnormal. Mevi, what are your thoughts on this?”

Hadrian watched Mevia twirl her axe around playfully, an amused smile on her face. “Very convenient timing!”

She approached Jesse, gripping the handle of her axe. “Almost as convenient as me having my favorite axe in hand while you’re in hitting range!” She threw her arm up and over her head, the smile still on her face. Mevia didn’t have an exact area where she wanted to strike Jesse, she just wanted to hit him.  
The second Mevia brought her axe down by a millimeter, Olivia’s hat flew off his head as Jesse’s legs already pushed him off the ground and had him moving in reverse without him realizing. He backed himself against a bookshelf and watched as Mevia struggled to swing her axe down an inch more. She swished her head around, hair flying into her face and she was eye to eye with Aiden, who held onto the blade with a strong grip; unaffected by the edges digging into his fingers.

“We came here for a reason.” Aiden said again, releasing the axe. “If I wanted Jesse chopped up, I would’ve done it myself.”

Mevia lowered her weapon and clicked her tongue, “Oh, I’m sure you would’ve.” She stashed her axe away and grabbed the other on the floor, “But I’ll bite, why?”

“Look, it doesn’t matter if you believe him or not, we saw him near a portal with Olivia and need anything you have about…” Aiden slowed down at the sight of Hadrian and Mevia’s bugged eyes.  
The woman raised her axe at Aiden and twirled it as if it were a part of her arm, “I’m sorry sweetie, I must’ve been hearing things. Could you... Repeat that?”  
Hadrian had yet to move a muscle. He hadn’t even blinked. His mouth hung open as his body remained frozen.

Aiden attempted to backtrack with a swear leaving his lips, “I was going to tell you about that soon.”

“Olivia was th--” Hadrian began but stopped mid sentence, grabbed Aiden by the arm and dragged him to the bedroom, throwing the crossbow to the ground. He halted at the door frame and turned to the three, “Mevia, Gill, keep an eye on that boy! We’ll be just a moment.”  
And with that, he shoved Aiden inside and shut the door.

The group hadn’t the chance to react in that frame of time.

“Wait, you’re going to leave us here and expect them to NOT kill me!?” Jesse shouted to no one in particular. Gill wasn’t too big of an issue, he was more rough than deadly, it was the woman that sat on a chair, sharpening one blade of her axe with the other, that he was worried about.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hadrian began pacing around the bedroom, something he wasn’t able to do in the cluttered store, and stroked his chin. While the room itself was much smaller, it was more spacious. It only had two beds on opposite sides, their sheets were both a dreary shade of marine--which made the white pillows pop--and were neatly done and appeared untouched. One slender, dark oak wardrobe that contrasted the spruce floor with dust bunnies all around it. And at the very end of the room, there was a large portrait.  
Aiden had seen it many times before when he had visited. It was a commission--Aiden remembered--a painstakingly detailed painting of Hadrian, Mevia… Oswald? That wasn’t his name, but he was a larger man with a fluffy, white beard, and another woman whose name also slipped his mind. Hadrian loved to share stories about him and the other three when they were younger, but Aiden never met the other two in the portrait. Only heard stories.

“Sit down, sit down.” Hadrian waved towards one of the beds. Aiden sat down and sunk into the mattress. The old man went through another few rounds of pacing about then stopped to adjust his robe, fixing his posture in the process.  
“Alright. I want you to tell me what happened--anything you can remember.”

“Did you really have to bring me into a different room for this?”

“Listen, this could all be some big, elaborate story that The Hero’s Awakening could’ve set up. I don’t want to take any chances.” he tapped his foot, “I want to hear your side of the story then I’m gonna talk to Jesse to see how much remains consistent, you understand?”

“Sure?”

Hadrian slid in front of Aiden and crouched down so they were at the same eye level. “Excellent. Now story, go!” he ordered.

“Wait, do you want the short version or the long version--”

“I want a STORY.”

Aiden threw his arms up, “Alright, okay! Radar told US that a guard told HIM that a weird, green light was coming from the shrine. Rose and I decided to check it out to see what’s up.”

He heard Hadrian grumble to himself, “That Radar fellow told ya, huh?”

Aiden rolled his eyes, “He’s just the messenger.” He continued “But that’s when we saw Jesse and Olivia. At first I thought it was only him there, not too big of a deal, right? Well I grabbed him, he called for Olivia, then everything got weird.”

“You think he’s the one that opened it up?” 

“No, I--” Aiden leaned back and tried to salvage every event that’s happened tonight, every miniscule detail. “There weren’t any signs of a break in, the guards didn’t spot anything, and Jesse didn’t know where he was.”

The old man pushed his glasses up, “But did you ever SEE him near the portal?”

“Neither of us did.”

Hadrian didn’t have to say another word to show he wasn’t convinced.

“He still doesn’t like me, but he’s been much more cooperative than he usually is. He told me what he remembered, something about building a wool creature at some event--a Blaze? But he said we were rivals, I ruined his build, and he lived in some place called Beacon Town. I’m not saying it’s the truth, but it’s weird, isn’t it?”

“What about Olivia, does she rem--Wait, did you say Beacon Town?”

“Yeah?”

“That’s such a stupid name.”

“I know,” Aiden started, “but that’s the issue! That sounds like a minimum effort, made up name but when he told me about it, it felt like the truth.” While that was a vague explanation, that was the ONLY explanation he could come up with.

“Does that make sense?” he asked the old man, who didn’t look too pleased with what he’s being told.

“Sure it does,” Hadrian said with a cynical sort of happiness in his voice, “Jesse sounds like he’s tellin’ you the truth and that’s all dandy. But to me, it sounds like you’re tryna cover up for your friend.”

Aiden didn’t hide the offense he took, “Hadrian, why would I lie to you? Especially about this?!”

“Because this is Jesse we’re talkin’ bout.” Hadrian shot back with a still expression, not even bothering to lift his eyelids; looking at Aiden past the frame of his glasses.

“Right, right--Better question: When’s the last time I lied to you?”

That’s when Hadrian’s cold aurora faded and his comments came to a stop. He turned away and walked towards the door as if he were about to leave, and stopped. He stared intensely at it like it’d devalue Aiden’s point. He remained speechless and held his hands together, squeezing them tightly.

“You have to have noticed Jesse was off.” Aiden said to the back of Hadrian.

Hadrian massaged his temples and remained still. He didn’t want to respond to that. He started to tap his head, “What about Olivia?” 

Aiden clenched the sheets of the bed, he wasn’t too delighted with old man’s reaction, but it may be best to move on. His eyes slowly made their way to the floor. He let out an empty chuckle, “I thought I was finally losing it when I saw her.”  
He buried his face into his hands, “I hugged her, I wasn’t thinking, but I wanted to see if she was real and…” he muffled nonsense.

He lifted his head back up, “She remembers Jesse. They were working together in the shrine. That’s it.” 

Hadrian ran his fingers through his hair and didn’t say a word. He knew Aiden explained what he could, but Hadrian knew the boy long enough to know not everything would be accurate. 

“I should be happy that she’s back.” Aiden spoke up.

“Hm?”

“Olivia. I was happy to see her again, but it felt fake. Does that make sense? I should’ve been overjoyed, the happiest I’ve ever been--she’s alive! I would’ve done anything to bring her or Lukas back and now that she’s here, I don’t know how to feel. It’s like it’s someone who looks like Olivia with nothing that made her herself, you know?” Aiden breathed in and rested his head in his hands. He didn’t expect Hadrian to know the answer but it's been eating him up ever since they left the temple. Maybe he’s overthinking it.  
“I feel awful for thinking that. We’re friends but why does it feel so… Empty?” even now, he knew there should be guilt to come with talking--let alone thinking--that he feels little connection towards Olivia. Granted, he still felt bad for speaking about her like this regardless. They’ve known each other for years and nothing should’ve changed that. So why is this happening?

“I’m uh… I don’t…” Hadrian cursed to himself and tried to continue the original conversation, “Blast it, this is where things get tricky.” He stood up and started pacing again. “None of us have ever built or interacted with a portal, except for you and your friends that one time you went to the underground city. So none of us know any of the side effects of reactivating one of those suckers. Who’s to say memory loss ISN’T one of them?”  
The pieces of information he was given were big, but there were still parts of the puzzle that prevented the whole picture from coming together.

“Plus, Jesse still doesn’t like you.” he pointed out. “Even if his memories are all screwed up, there’s still a part of him that has that resentment.”

“And as much as I’d love to believe that Olivia was brought back,” he brought his head up to the painting, “Deep down, a part of me knows this is some nasty plot Jesse’s set up. Nothin’s clicking into place. Something IS wrong.”

And with that, there was nothing else to be said. Not from Aiden, anyways.  
He got off the now crinkled bed and went to the door.

“Bring Jesse in.” he heard Hadrian order.

Aiden opened the door and was greeted with the sight of Jesse being held down on a seat by Gill, his fingers digging into Jesse’s arms, with Mevia holding one of her axes above Jesse’s head and the other in front of his neck. They didn’t seem to notice him right away; Jesse was too concerned about his life. Something left Aiden’s mouth, not a word, but definitely a sound. The three zipped their heads around. 

Aiden stared. 

They stared.

“We wanted to make sure he wouldn’t get any ideas!” Mevia said without prompt, stashing the weapons away. “Gill was just helping.” her tone became softer.  
Gill’s large eyes were on Aiden as he let go of Jesse instantly.  
“... Hadrian wants to see you, Jesse.” was all Aiden said.

“Really?” Both Mevia and Jesse asked. Jesse propped up from the chair and made his way to the door. The thought of escaping was starting to sound better by the second. Maybe when Hadrian isn’t watching, he could jump out of a window and make a run for it. Find Olivia. Get back home.

He could feel everyone looking at him. Especially Mevia, who’s stare was piercing the back of his skull and taunting him to turn around to catch it. Aiden loomed over him as he’d get closer to the room. Seeing Aiden made Jesse’s throat tighten, he wanted to say something but now would be an awful time. He could ask later. When there wasn’t an axe-crazy lady.

Jesse reached towards the knob and his throat managed to get tighter. The closer his hand got, the more it felt like he couldn’t breathe. Practically choking on his unspoken words until--

“Aiden, what are you planning?!’ he zipped his head to Aiden; Jesse asked so fast and so quietly he almost believed he hadn’t said anything.  
Aiden flinched with Jesse’s question and waited for a second to see if he’d add onto it. When nothing came to join Jesse’s angry glare, Aiden finally answered with “... Nothing yet?”  
Jesse sputtered, “What’s that supposed to mean?!” he struggled to keep his voice at a whisper.

Aiden was about to respond but Mevia spoke up with an intrigued tone, “What are you two talking about?”

Aiden flashed his eyes over to Jesse then to Mevia, “Nothing.” he walked to the seats and left the boy alone.

“Gill, I know you were trying to help out but--” was all Jesse heard Aiden say before he shut the door behind him. The first thing he saw was Hadrian himself, not even close to his warmer, welcoming attitude from when Jesse first stepped in. The second feature of the room--or lack of--was that there were no windows, so escaping was out of the picture.  
Standing in the bedroom with Hadrian across from him, all the noises of the world, the talking, people coming and going from surrounding buildings, everything seemed to go mute. Like the room was detached from the rest of the world. There was only Jesse and Hadrian. Was that comforting?

Hadrian took a few steps back and sat down on the ruffled bed behind him.  
“I wanted to ask you a few questions, son.”

Jesse held his hands together behind his back as the man went on. “You can answer them however you’d like, I won’t be jumpin’ to any conclusions. I’ve already heard Aiden’s story, things feel sketchy already, but I believe it’s fair to listen to both sides.” 

“Wait, you’re listening to what AIDEN’S been telling you?” The boy blurted out.

Hadrian raised a brow, “I don’t see a reason why not to.”

As if being outnumbered by enemies wasn’t bad enough.  
“Look, maybe he’s kept it a secret from you, but Aiden managed to manipulate an entire city into thinking he was a hero! Who’s to say he’s not doing it again?!”

Uneasiness, panic, perhaps, was beginning to build up as Hadrian’s lips remained sealed with a face that wasn’t reacting. 

“Look, I know we haven’t had the cleanest history but you HAVE to believe me. I think Aiden’s convinced everyone that I’m something much worse than I actually am! I’ve saved the world TWICE! But they’re keeping me hidden from the public like they KNOW people will recognize me. If this isn’t a part of a bigger plan, then this HAS to be a mix up.” Jesse was throwing up whatever popped into his mind, not taking a spare second to stitch any two points together.  
“And what’s all this talk about me escaping? Going in a cell? Why would I go to jail? This is a misunderstanding--the wrong person!” 

Hadrian had yet to say anything, but the last words that left Jesse’s mouth triggered a reaction. A hollow laugh. The old man stood up and approached Jesse with an expressionless face.“I said it before ‘n I’ll say it again: I won’t jump to no conclusions yet.”  
He placed his hand on Jesse’s chest, “But we don’t have the wrong person. I’m sure we all know that. Otherwise you wouldn’t be here. You wouldn’t be treated the way you are right now. You can bother Aiden with all your little issues ‘n stories because if there’s one thing I do know: I ain’t as patient as he is.”  
He ended his speech with a forceful shove and sitting back down on the bed.

Jesse licked his lips, “I know,” he paused trying to think up a coherent thought “I’m acting kind of crazy but after the wither storm and defeating ALL these people I hate, I have no idea what led to all of THIS happening!” Jesse wished he had his sword on him right now. Not even for attacking, he wanted something that’d make him feel protected. Safe.

“Wither st--People you hate?”

“Sorry, that’s a strong word!” he retracted, “But everyone I’ve seen, Cassie Rose, Aiden, Gill, EVERYONE, they’ve all wanted to... “ what’s a nice way of saying ‘Beat me to a bloody pulp and stomp on my remains’?

“... Hurt… Me at one point.” Yeah, that’s a good word.  
“I didn’t want to say anything because I thought I’d get pounded, or maybe they forgave and forgot but that doesn’t explain the treatment I’ve been getting… And… And… The whole time I’ve been here, I’ve only learned that everyone here hates me and that this town has… Has two libraries!” Jesse hunched over and had to catch his breath.  
He’d take in mouthfuls of air while his eyes were stuck on Hadrian’s concerned expression for Jesse’s mental state, creating an odd, bittersweet atmosphere. Outright admitting all of that to Hadrian of all people was probably the dumbest thing he’s done all night, not that there were better options, but to pour out a portion of the stream of endless problems was like a crater had been lifted off his shoulders. Even if he wouldn’t get direct answers, he was thankful for the opportunity to vent.

Hadrian leaned forward from the bed, “Did you get all that outta your system?” he asked. Jesse didn’t respond, he kept panting, so he took the end of the ramblings as a ‘Yes’.  
The old man stood up to fix the sheets, “As… Exciting as that was, I wasn’t going to ask you bout any of that. I was curious about you and Olivia and how you got here.”

“Oh, that.” Jesse fixed his posture, his face reddened “I found a jungle temple, it was glowing green and wanted to bring Olivia along since there were going to be red stone traps and I thought she’d like that. Also to check out the weird green… Glowy thingy.”

“And I take it you aren’t too fond of Aiden?” 

Hadrian was gifted with a look of exhaustion from Jesse.  
“Could you tell me your history with the boy?” he asked in case another rant was about to surface.

“We were rivals for a short time,” He was still out of breath, “He ruined me and my friends’ build one year at the con. Sure, I was upset but I was too busy trying to stop an entire Wither Storm.”

Hadrian’s glasses slipped down his nose, his lips moved though nothing came out as he rested his head on his hand. Thinking.

Hadrian finally asked “Jesse, does your head hurt?”

Jesse thought about all the times his face was smashed into the ground on this night alone. “A little, sure. Why?”

“No reason, just curious is all.” Hadrian pushed up his glasses and stretched his arms high before a loud crack was let loose, followed by a satisfied sigh.  
“I did get much more than I bargained for, I think I got enough to work with. Let’s go, I’m sure the both of us don’t like bein’ in the same room with each other for so long.” He hopped off the bed, reached for the doorknob and with a smile still on his face, he said “Don’t push your luck, son. If somethin’ happens to those boys, I ain’t gonna be merciful.” 

He shoved Jesse ahead and out the door.

Back in the main area, Gill and Mevia sat by each other, though Mevia was miraculously balancing herself on the two hind legs of the chair, and Aiden was standing up with his arms crossed. Body facing towards the two while his head turned to Jesse.

“Everything okay? We heard a lot of shouting.” Aiden asked.

“Shoot, was there? Sorry, I hope--” Jesse ruffled his hair but froze, where was Olivia’s hat? His eyes darted around the room. Aiden must’ve known what he was searching for, as he lifted up a hand that held the green, aviator hat with the black goggles. Relief washed over Jesse. 

“We didn’t really hear much.” Gill said.

“Gill’s lecture kept getting interrupted.” Mevia added with a smirk, glancing at the man shrinking next to her.

Aiden noticed Jesse’s eyes hadn't looked away from the hat, he squeezed it.  
“I can give it back to Olivia.” he insisted before Jesse had the chance to ask for it back. 

Jesse blinked, “But what about ‘laying low’?”

“You know to keep your head low. Besides, I haven’t seen too many people out.” he attempted to say with a reassuring tone with his stern face clashing against it.

“... Alright then.” Jesse wasn’t too thrilled with that, especially since Aiden was the one to say people would ‘freak out’ when they saw him. He didn’t want to risk getting caught all because Aiden wanted to be a saint and return Olivia’s hat. If he didn’t, maybe Jesse would snatch it back, or maybe Olivia has a spare back at home and she wouldn’t care too much about missing one.

Hadrian began sorting through a pile of books on one of the many small, cluttered tables, flipping through them rapidly before placing each one on the ground when they didn’t satisfy him. Mevia and Aiden began talking again, but Jesse blocked them out. He was blocking most of the world out. He had yet to move from the spot he stood, too consumed with his own frustration. He hated this stuffy place, he hated being bosses and pushed around, he hated the way he was being treated.  
‘Does your head hurt?’ Hadrian’s stupid question rattled in Jesse’s head.  
‘Yeah, it does. Your so called ‘friends’ kept pushing me around like a ragdoll all night!’ Jesse snapped back to the imaginative old man in the imaginative conversation. That would’ve been a much better answer.

“I think you’d like this,” Hadrian said to Aiden, holding a journal with a worn leather cover, “I used to be friends with some nutjob who tried t’ convince me to join The Hero’s Awakening.” he gave the journal a few pats. “He’d jot down whatever he learned into this sucker and I remember...” he began flipping through the pages, holding them with the tips of his fingers not wanting to tear the incredibly thin paper.

He stopped roughly in the middle of it and flicked up his glasses, “Yep, right here!” he shoved the journal in Aiden’s face. 

“He’s got some pages bout portals here. Real fun read but also a whole bunch of gibberish.” he handed the book to Aiden, who slipped his finger in between the pages to not lose its place. Hadrian began roaming around his little store, stroking his chin, “I hope that’ll do for now,” he said, “I’ll keep looking for anythin’ else, but that was the first thing that came to mind.”

“It’s much better than nothing.” Aiden reassured. He got up and tapped the inattentive Jesse, bringing him back to reality. “Thanks, Hadrian.” 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Olivia had been wandering throughout the second floor of the library for some time now, she didn’t want to go to any of the other floors yet in case she’d get lost or they’d have to leave. She wasn’t sure when they were leaving, but she was hoping they would call out for her or announce it.  
She heard the footsteps of the girls echoing throughout this place, which was sort of comforting in it’s own weird way, knowing that they hadn’t ditched her. But being quiet in this place proved to be a difficult task, every book she’d pull out, every step she took, heck, even the rustling of Aiden’s jacket she wore would practically boom throughout. Nothing could be done in peace.

‘I wonder if Stella and Maya heard our...’ she didn’t want to call it a fight, ‘... Argument several minutes ago.

As much as Olivia didn’t want to think about the feud from before--or this situation entirely--she had to. If she wanted to get a sliver of an idea of what’s going on, she’d have to work with the information she knows and can work with.  
And luckily for her, the second floor was filled to the brim with books about this place.

Most of the shelves on the left side of the floor were dedicated to crafting recipes, from concepts, to failed creations, or creations still used to this day. And while those did pique her interest, she focused on the right side; the books containing the history. Good gracious, were there a lot of history books on this floor. Some spilled and mixed with the crafting ones, but an abundance was much preferred over a limited amount.

Olivia was unsure if all of these books described unique, important events of this world, or if they were retelling the same story with a slightly different lense. She couldn’t go through all of them, she wanted one that was straight to the point, so she looked for the thinnest one that caught her eye. 

It was a dark blue, hardcover book that was about the size of her face. There wasn’t any noticeable damage done to it, and when she flipped through the pages, they all seemed to be in good condition. Small text that read “The Pocket Sized History of Our Land.” was printed onto the cover. The author of this book was kind enough to add a table of contents. There was a small, handwritten note scribbled onto the first page that read “For Rowan: Please study!!”  
It was small but it made Olivia chuckle.

‘I haven’t had the chance to even read it yet. I know Jesse would like to hear anything about this place.’ Olivia thought to herself as she flipped open the book and skimmed the table of contents, walking slower so she wouldn’t run into any shelves or walls.  
‘I hope he’s doing okay.’ Jesse could handle himself, she knew that, but worry would invade her mind no matter what she told herself.

“Hm... Impossibilities... The rise of shrines...” Olivia murmured the listed names to herself.

“‘Is the world ending’? That’s an odd one. ‘Tearing down the Ne-!” she suddenly collided with something--

“Oh, I’m sorry! Are you okay?” a man asked.

Someone. 

She lost her balance but the stranger grabbed her hand and kept her standing. 

“Sorry again.” the man spoke, his deep voice had familiarity.

“No, no, I should be the one apologizing, I wasn’t looking where I was go-” Olivia almost choked on her own spit when she saw who it was.

‘That’s Axel. That’s Axel. Oh my gosh--’ the same thick, black hair with his bushy unibrow to go with it. He wore the same green jacket she’d always see him in, the tan pants and sandals it match. The familiar friendly giant she’s known for so long but with the eyes of a stranger.

She gripped her book and adjusted her oversized jacket, “I should’ve been paying attention, I didn’t expect anyone else to be here... Sir.”  
Olivia had no idea if he recognized her or not. It could be a similar situation with Stella and the others, but she didn’t want to risk making the interaction more awkward than it already was. 

Axel let out an obvious forced chuckly, “Yeah, same. I thought I heard someone else come in, but sorta ignored it. Guess I was in the zone.”  
He said and brought his head down at the array of open books splayed across the floor and circled around Axel. There was a notebook and a few pens--some broken--on the ground. Whatever he was studying for seemed more important than this encounter, not that Olivia wanted to keep this going on any longer. Cassie Rose and the others were probably waiting for her! They’re her only way back to the house; they might be looking for her at this very moment! 

“Mm-hm! I totally understand. No worries.” she began backing away, hugging her small book to her chest. “I need to get going, my friends are probably pretty worried about me. Have a good evening!”

She scurried off, hearing Axel’s “You too!” as she started searching for Cassie Rose. She speed walked, giving her eyes mere seconds to scan one aisle of books before moving to the next; it shouldn’t be too hard to find Cassie, her vibrant, red hair stuck out like a sore thumb in this murky place. Each aisle she passed, a disgusting nervousness--the type that made you want to throw up--began to build up inside her, her hands getting sweaty as her stomach filled with butterflies. Or wasps. Her stomach was aching. Maybe it was that short interaction with Axel, maybe it was because she had yet to spot Cassie Rose, maybe it was this whole situation entirely--who knows!

“EXCUSE ME?!”

Olivia stopped dead in her tracks when she heard that loud, stuck up shout echo throughout the library’s halls. There were other voices but their volume didn’t compare to whoever yelled. 

‘That has to be Stella!’ Olivia approached the nearest edge of the second floor and looked down, holding onto the stone railing. And there they were! Stella, Maya, and Cassie were all gathered at the center of the first floor, arms full of books, and--based on their gestures and the scream from before--arguing. 

Not waiting for the situation to get any uglier, Olivia hurried to the stairs. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“And you just LET her leave?!” Stella yelled but immediately slapped her hands over her mouth when she remembered where they were at.

She continued her bickering in a whisper-shout, “I cannot BELIEVE you. We just got her back and you allowed her to wander off to Hero knows where!”

Cassie Rose grinded her shoe into the floor with her arms crossed, looking away from the lecturer, “She said she needed space, so I gave it to her.”

Stella sputtered, almost dropping the few books she held, as if that was the most absurd concept she’s ever come across, “What if something happened to her?! We can’t lose her again, we haven’t had a proper reunion! I haven’t had the chance to let this whole situation sink in yet--she still doesn’t have her memory. What if she’s lost!? We have to go find her!” Stella was about to blast off when Maya grabbed the collar of her shirt and yanked her back.

“Stella.” Maya began, “I get that you’re worried, we all are, but memories or not, Olivia’s an adult. She can take care of herself.” her eyebrows creased slightly.

“Oh I know, but--” Stella didn’t finish her sentence, she threw her arms down and sighed with defeat. 

“We’ll find her.” Cassie Rose tried to reassure her friend, she picked up her pile of books that stood beside her and held them close.  
She pulled on her hair, “I sorta freaked out back there, I didn’t mean to. I’m really sorry.”

“Yeah, we heard it.” Maya said, not glancing down on her friend.

“No, no, don’t apologize!” Stella started, “I should be the one apologizing. This whole situation has been pretty crazy for all of us, it’s natural to be confused. But I do know getting upset at you won’t help any.”

“It’s weird having her back.” Maya commented.

Stella fixed the sleeves to her suit, “Oh, definitely. One hundred percent.”  
The one off exchange sparked a reaction from Cassie Rose, a bulb lit up, “Speaking of which--and I know I’m going to sound like a terrible person--” she pushed up her glasses, “When I had that little… Outburst, something didn’t click.”

Cassie continued as her friends watched on, “I feel awful about snapping at her, I really do, but not awful like ‘I got upset at Olivia’, more like ‘Awful that I yelled at a stranger’. She didn’t know what was going on and I didn’t feel like Olivia was really there. Maybe she’s been gone for too long and my brain can’t handle having her back?”  
There was a lack of connection with Olivia, when they walked together, Cassie had felt the discomfort of being with a total stranger. A stranger who happened to look like her old friend. How do you explain a feeling like that without getting any weird looks?

Maya let her mouth hang for a little bit before saying “It’s a weird gut feeling, but I get it.” 

“Everything’s weird. I think this whole situation has thrown all of us off.” Stella said, trying to move past the subject. She tucked her blonde hair behind her ear, “So, I guess one of us can go look for her while the other two can take the books back to Aiden--” 

“Sorry for the wait!” Olivia spoke out, hopping down the last few stairs. The three zipped their heads around and Stella sighed with relief. “Let’s go!”

They left the library, recreating the huddle they had on their way to the library. Maya up front, Cassie on the right and Stella on the left, and Olivia smack in the middle. Logan was nowhere to be seen, so they didn’t worry too much about keeping her under cover. This time, Olivia didn’t mind being stuck in between them, it gave her a chance to read that book she checked out. The three other girls were discussing what they’ve found, books about portal making, creations from the past, ancient relics, but Olivia was too caught up in her reading.

Several minutes passed, Olivia had been trying to skim the first section of the book to learn as much as she could, but the words were beginning to blur together and she kept rereading sentences over and over again. She let out a yawn, the realization of how tired she truly was was settling in. Everything began feeling like... Mush.  
The girls were still energetic and blabbing away, but it was getting hard to make out any of their conversation. What time was it?

‘We had to have gone through that portal at... 11 PM? Maybe midnight?’ Olivia rubbed her eyes and closed the book, stashing it away in the jacket’s large pocket. ‘Time seems to be the same... Or at least close to the time back at our home.’

“Ugh, look at that.” Stella whispered loudly to Cassie, looking past the red head and at whatever caught her eye. 

Cassie turned towards the direction Stella was staring and growled, cursing under her breath.

Cassie placed her books on the ground and walked off, “One second.”  
The girls stopped in their tracks, Maya’s body was still facing forward but her head was facing Cassie who was going... Somewhere. Olivia tried to look back at whatever Cassie was heading towards, but all she was was a small, gray structure--that vaguely resembled a tiny house--with a banner. A painting? Who knows. The only other thing she could make out was a few flowers surrounding it.

Olivia, confused, wanted to know what the disapproving tones were for. But before she examine whatever Cassie walked to, Stella suddenly grabbed Olivia by the shoulder and spun her around, 

“So, Olivia!” Stella began, “I saw you had a small book, what’s it about?”

“Oh jeez, uh, I wish I could tell you...” Olivia squinted, trying to force her eyes to focus on the girl. Was Stella forcing her to look away? Or was her drowsiness starting to mess with her? Maybe she was getting overwhelmed. “I’m just really, really tired.” 

“What? It’s only, like, 3 AM.”

Olivia blinked and didn’t really know what to say, “You’re right, I’m not tired. I’m exhausted.” 

“But it’s a history book.” Olivia said, answering Stella’s question. 

She heard Cassie’s footsteps coming closer, and an odd crackling sound. Olivia saw she had a redstone torch in her hand, looking at it in a way you would to a rodent. The red flame of the torch was as vibrant as Cassie’s hair, probably more. But just seeing the fire had Olivia feeling even more drowsy, it’s warmth on her skin, and the snaps from the flame brought an odd sense of peace that contrasted the violent shade of red. She wanted to sleep. She really wanted to sleep.

Cassie blew out the fire and tossed the burnt wood to the ground; she smothered it under her shoe and grumbled before returning to her position and grabbing the books once again.

“Ugh, another redstone torch-- Un-be-liev-able!” Stella glared at the remains of the torch.

“Is it even that big of a deal now? Olivia’s right here.” Maya said.

“That may be so, but no matter where it’s placed, it’s still extremely tasteless.” Stella contended, sticking her nose high into the air. Maya rolled her eyes but understood.

Everything was progressively getting more and more confusing. Everyone understood each other, they all knew what one thing meant or the rules of this world, but Olivia felt that she was alone in a crowded world. Almost like a dream. Maybe this was a dream. Olivia would wake up, make breakfast, Jesse would run by and ask if she’d like to join them on another wacky adventure, they’d find treasure, and then they’d go back home. A home where everything made sense, where she was surrounded by people who liked her.

“What was that?” Olivia asked through a yawn, trying to get a better look at the structure again. “Can I see?”

“No, no, you don’t have to see it! Let’s go home!” Stella insisted and moved the group along.

‘But I want to see it.’ her mind was commanding her to march back to that build, but her body was in no . Everything felt far too heavy to control. So she tread on.

“We can show you tomorrow, how does that sound?” Cassie mumbled, leaning close to the girl.

That reminded Olivia of something.

“Are we still gonna talk about that... The thing we were talking about earlier?” Olivia asked.

Despite her vague question, Cassie seemed to understand what she was referring to. “Yep. After we talk with Aiden, we’ll answer any of your questions.”

Olivia bobbed her head then let it hang, watching her feet and the road that moved below them. She wasn’t out right exhausted, just tired, but she hated how sore her eyes would feel, how everything would go too fast or too slow, an overall sour experience. She found that concentrating on a specific topic helped push away that awful feeling, so why not do it now?

‘How about that book…’ the one she tried to read. Actually, she did read the table of contents. What could she remember… ‘It mentioned shrines.’ Plenty of questions and possibilities to brainstorm with that prompt alone. It was high up on the list, so when were they built and how long have they been there? What or who were they built for? The shrine that her and Jesse were at was abandoned, so were all shrines abandoned? But then it wouldn’t make sense for guards to surround the area--but then AGAIN they were keeping an eye out for anyone coming in or out without supervision because someone activated that portal.  
Who would activate a portal to an abandoned place?  
… Wait, there was also that one chapter name she didn’t read all the way because she ran into Axel, it was about the Nether. While she could only catch “Tearing down the ne…” it wouldn’t make any sense if it was anything BUT the Nether. She’d have to double check but it does make her wonder what happened to cause a whole dimension to be ‘torn down’? Was that even possible?

“Hey Olivia,” she heard Cassie begin. Olivia kept her head down but peeked at Cassie, showing she was paying attention.

“About that little freak out in the library…”  
Olivia couldn’t help but frown at the mention of that incident. Not because of Cassie, she didn’t offend her nor hurt her in any way, but the situation itself left a bitter taste in Olivia’s mouth. It created this odd contradiction where she understood what Cassie felt but with so little context, it was devoid of any impact. But it still left her feeling... Unsettled. Cassie Rose was frustrated with Olivia but her words didn’t feel directed at her. More like she was talking to someone else. There was no connection with her words, no emotional impact. And why would there be? She was concerned about Cassie, she looked genuinely hurt but Olivia was genuinely lost. 

‘Shoot, I’m not paying attention!’ Olivia had kept her eyes on Cassie but her mind completely tuned out the second the feud was mentioned. ‘She could be saying something important!” 

Olivia squeezed her eyes shut then set all her focus on Cassie Rose.

“... And I shouldn’t be making excuses--What I need to say is: I’m sorry.”

Olivia blinked and immediately wished her mind didn’t wander. Completely ignoring Cassie’s build up for her apology, despite it being unintentional, made her feel like a moron put on the spotlight and forgot their lines. She kept staring at Cassie, afraid of looking away and creating a more awkward atmosphere.  
Cassie Rose’s face reddened and she faced forward, “I shouldn’t have acted the way I did. It was uncalled for and… I’m sorry.”  
Though Olivia couldn’t see her face, her words struck her differently than before. The words were for her, about their own past event. 

Throughout previous conversations she had taken part in or overheard, she could only describe those moments as “uncomfortable”, a broken thumb on a hand that everyone else was trying to pass off as fine. But now, there was an understanding.

“It’s okay, really. I was more off guard than anything else,” Olivia said, “I appreciate it.” she ended with a smile. Cassie grinned back.

The rest of the walk home was quiet. And that was okay.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Aiden, we’re back!” Cassie announced as she swung open the door with her free hand, holding it open for the other girls to walk in.  
“Hi guys!” Gill slid out of the kitchen to greet his friends and a yawning Olivia.  
“Hey, Gill.” Cassie responded, a bit worn out, though she was glad to hear Gill’s voice again. “You think you could put these books on the small table, please?” she tilted her head towards the dim living room.

“You got it!” without question, he hoisted the stack from her arms and made his way into the room. Cassie stretched her arms behind her head and heard a loud pop come from them. It always stung a little afterwards but felt satisfying, especially after carrying a whole load of books. 

Shaking off the mishmash of sensations, she went into the kitchen “So Gill, where’s Aiden--”  
Cassie stopped when she saw the man in question sitting at the kitchen table, face buried into a small book. Jesse sat right across from him. She scowled but pushed any potential comments out of her mind, she walked towards Aiden with her arms folded.  
Aiden saw a piece of her out of the corner of his eye and jumped up with a grin on his face. “Rose! What’d you find?” 

“Oh, you know, books… More books. Mostly about portal stuff.” she shrugged. Aiden nodded along and set the journal, pages down, on the table to not lose his place.  
“Hope things weren’t too chaotic with Jesse.” Cassie sat on the edge of the table. Jesse’s head jolted up with the mention of his name.

“No, he wasn’t too--”

“Hold on.” Cassie Rose interrupted and she turned the upper half of her body towards Jesse.  
“Are you still wearing those extra pants I gave you?” 

Jesse looked down at the oversized, navy blue pants and stumbled out of the chair, frantically trying to pull them off, “Look, I didn’t have the time to take them off--”  
“Whatever, it’s okay, I’ll burn them later.” Cassie shifted back to Aiden, “You were saying?”

“Well, Gill and I went over to Hadrian’s and got this journal as you guys were away.” he patted the worn down item. Cassie looked at him, then the journal, then back to him. 

“I thought we were going to Hadrian’s tomorrow?” Cassie blinked a few times as though she misheard.

“Yeah, but we felt bad that we weren’t helping so we wanted to do something.” 

“Who watched over Jesse?” Cassie asked, wide eyed.

“He came with us--”

“You brought him WITH YOU?!” she raised her voice, flabbergasted by whatever Aiden’s mind must’ve went through to reach an idea like THAT.

Aiden shot out of his seat, “Nothing got out of hand, he’s still here isn’t here?! I don’t see--” 

The two began bickering loudly--though not yelling--and everyone watched for a couple moments. Maya rolled her eyes and locked the door behind them; she leaned against it. Stella tuned the two out and joined Gill, organizing the books by who found what so there’d be no hassle reaching for them.  
Jesse flipped back and forth from Cassie to Aiden, unable to comprehend one or the other, much less how they could understand each other with their words constantly colliding.

Jesse spoke up, “I know this is probably a bad time to ask this,” neither of them answered nor glanced at him. It could’ve been because of how invested they were in their argument or not caring for Jesse’s presence at the time being. “But Olivia came back with you, right?”  
He was still ignored. Their raised voices might have prevented the others from hearing the question as well. 

He was about to check around the house himself when he heard a familiar voice say “Jesse?”

He searched to the source and saw Olivia’s head pop up from behind Maya, who was glaring at him. Olivia’s smile, while small, managed to light up the once dark living room. Jesse forgot about the arguing, he brushed away the nasty looks and ran towards his friend. Olivia stepped up and knew what was coming, her arms already open; Jesse leapt into them and gave her a big squeeze, almost crushing her. 

“You’re alive!” Jesse hugged harder.

“What, did you think I was a total goner?” Olivia asked through a struggling gasp for air.

He let go, “No, I--I know you can defend yourself but I let you run off with them and didn’t even--”

“Jesse,” Olivia said, making herself much quieter “I chose to go with them.” she reached into the pocket of the leather jacket and fumbled with the small book, “I thought it’d be a great opportunity to…” 

As the two continued, Maya wasn’t sure if she was the only one listening in or not but she kept quiet. She kept her head up to look as though she was paying attention to Aiden and Cassie’s arguing instead.

“Okay, what’s with this?” The three heard Stella coming over, arms on hips with disgust on her face. “Jesse needs to be at least five feet away from Olivia.” she said impatiently to no one specifically. Despite her clear distaste over the situation, she took no action, almost like she was expecting her words to be enough to move Jesse.

“Hey, now wait just a second!” Jesse started, “I know you guys think I’m the worst person to ever walk on this planet but you can’t dictate my relationships with my friends!” He wasn’t planning on starting a fight or a second argument in this house, but he also wasn’t planning on taking every hit these people were swinging at him. Especially so late at night. 

It’d be nice to put all of the stupid, seemingly never ending surge of mistreatment or threats on hold. Even for a minute.

“You’re right, I totally have ZERO reasons to be suspicious of you. Cut the act!” Stella paired her rolling eyes with gritted teeth.

Jesse wasn’t going to put up with her ‘I’m Better Than You In Every Aspect’ tone, “It doesn’t matter how ‘suspicious’ I seem to you! I don’t care what you think, I am going to be with my friend--”

“Olivia!” Aiden spoke up, unintentionally finishing Jesse’s sentence. The group’s attention was now on Aiden, who was approaching the woman in question, a frustrated Cassie following behind. “I need to talk to you.”  
Olivia’s eyes darted around the room, catching glimpses of everybody watching her. Then she stopped at Jesse, who nodded reassuringly and gave her a thumbs up, not caring about the opposing people surrounding him. 

“Right--Okay!” she said. 

Stella stepped up, “While you two are chatting, we’ll start discussing what we’ve learned and keep a close eye on Jesse.” her enthusiasm at the start vanished completely at the end. Jesse frowned.

“Sounds good, We shouldn’t be too long.” Aiden began distancing himself away from the group as they all started taking their seats and nabbed a few books from the table in the living room. Olivia followed behind, thinking that they’d be discussing whatever matters in the kitchen, but Aiden led her up the stairs to the second floor. Away from everyone else.

Jesse was told to sit down at the armchair, alone, unlike the rest of the people in this room who all sat in groups at the couches. Except Maya, who was behind the couch her friends were on, leaning on it with one arm. Everyone else besides Jesse held a book, though no one had opened them. No one was paying attention to them. It was all on him.

“Look,” Stella stopped and quickly checked to see if Aiden and Olivia were out of earshot, “This little act of yours has been going on long enough, it’d be best to drop it now that Olivia’s not here and fess up to what you’re doing.”

They waited for Jesse to respond. He could’ve repeated what he told Hadrian, but with Stella, this was different. They went through multiple adventures together, even if they were bitter towards each other, there was more history between them. And while he didn’t know every detail about her, he still knew her. 

“How many times are you gonna say that till you believe it?” he asked.

“What are you on about?” Stella lifted her brows.

“Stella I know you don’t like me, but I also know you’re not dumb. I’m being treated like a criminal with no idea as to what crime I’ve committed, you know I wouldn’t do anything malicious.” 

Stella, like she had been accused of a crime herself, shot up defensively, “You would--You HAVE. I don’t see--”

“Stella.” Maya interrupted, catching the blonde’s attention, along with everybody else’s. Maya tapped her head a couple of times. The little motion reminded Stella of Cassie’s “amnesia” theory from earlier.

Settling back down, Stella asked “Jesse, could you... Tell me what happened last week?” 

Cassie Rose caught on to what Stella was doing, leaving Gill clueless and Jesse hesitant. Stella going from irritated to a strange, invested voice was unnerving.

“I didn’t do much, I was mostly at home except…” he tried to recall any key moments, “I--Actually--Olivia and I were trying to teach Radar how to fight! We were in the middle of this thick jungle and there were monsters everywhere. At one point he--he uhm…” Jesse saw the offput faces of everyone in the room. Stella became more intrigued but was too baffled to ask another question, Cassie and Gill were rattled, and Maya was the most expressive of the bunch for once. Her eyes were wider with her mouth open. She went back to her straight face but was visibly more interested in the discussion than before.

“Radar isn’t a fighter!” Gill stated with a hint of uncertainty.

“Well, not yet, that’s why we’re training.” Jesse answered.

“That… Can’t be right.” Stella said, chin on hands.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Aiden had taken Olivia through a large hallway then to a room on the left side. It was a bedroom, but whether or not it was Aiden’s bedroom was unknown. In the room, there were two beds, one you’d see the second you stepped foot inside, which had covers undone and a dark green blanket sloppily tossed on top to hide the small pile of clothes underneath it with pillows bare. This bed completely contrasted the other, which was on the far left end. The pillows wore a black case that stood out on the neatly done, vibrant red blanket. Beside the bed was, what seemed to be, a white pumpkin. ‘Cassie Rose.’ Olivia thought.  
Both beds were held together by sturdy, dark oak wood which popped against the birch walls and spruce floor.  
There was another oak door a few feet away from the red bed, which led outside. To a balcony, most likely. 

In front of the messy bed, a good distance away, was a writing desk covered in papers torn, crumpled, and terribly stacked. A cup filled with a variety of feathered pens and worn down pencils were beside a black ink bottle left open. A journal was in the center of this messy desk, wide open. Not that Olivia could go over to read it with Aiden here. Also, that’d be a breach of privacy. 

By the desk, there was a nice, small bookshelf filled with, well, books, but also items like swords, ores, and empty ink bottles. It didn’t look like something a hoarder would have, more like someone disorganized.

Two large windows were on both sides of the center wall. Olivia could see the tops and fronts of the buildings she caught snippets of earlier, and, surprisingly, there were still people walking around this hour. You could get a wonderful view of the night sky, full moon and all. Olivia folded her arms but stopped when she heard the sound of the jacket’s leather squeak.

“Oh, hey uh, would you like your jacket back?” Olivia didn’t wait for his acceptance, she took the book out of the pocket and was already taking it off. She felt weird wearing it. She didn’t know if it was because of how oversized it was, or the mere fact that it was Aiden’s was what threw her off, but it didn’t matter anymore. The jacket was off.

“Right, thanks. I was feeling naked without it.” he chuckled. As he was slipping into it, Olivia saw an item sheen from the moon’s light. She peeked over Aiden and saw bulky, gray goggles with a thick brown strap which laid on top of the bookshelf. Right next to them was her hat! With her small, black goggles and all! What were they doing here? Would it be a bad time to ask for them back?

“This’ll be quick.” Aiden began.

Guess she’ll have to wait.

“I was talking with Jesse earlier, about past experiences and,” he paused, “Were we rivals?”

Aiden knew it probably looked ridiculous to drag Olivia all the way up here to ask something as basic as that, but with Jesse in the same area, there could be the risk of him stressing or pressuring her. Maybe he’s influenced her in some way. Though that idea seemed a bit shaky at this time.  
Olivia herself wasn’t expecting the simple question but was relieved it was only that. 

“Yeah, we were! That was so long ago, it was mostly you and Jesse being competitive at Endercon.” Well, there was also Sky City. Could that be considered “rivalry”? It was more “borderline murder”. Rivalry cranked up to 11?

He nodded, “One more question, did you know about the portal in the shrine?” 

“No, I wish I did instead of Jesse getting all excited and hopping into it all willy nilly.” she sighed as she brushed the hair out of her eyes, “But I guess I should be thankful we ended up in this town instead of some bizarre world like always.”

“What?” Aiden said suddenly.

“What?”

He didn’t say anything, he stood still clenching and unclenching his hands. “‘Like always’?” Aiden repeated in a whisper, mystified by Olivia’s words.

“... Yes?” she confirmed.

“You shouldn’t… Should’ve never been in another world.” he began scratching his head, getting more and more fidgety. 

“And why’s that--” 

“Cause it’s illegal, for starters! And you shouldn’t… I don’t think the portals lead to different... “ he mouthed the word ‘Damn!’ to himself and ran out of the room like his life depended on it, his heavy steps down would shake the floor and boom throughout the house.  
Olivia, while thrown completely off guard by Aiden’s snippet of an explanation, rushed behind him. 

Whatever discussion was happening downstairs stopped. It was hard to ignore an entry like THAT. 

Aiden stepped in, and though his eyes were wide and horrified, his voice remained strong and unshaken “I have a question. I don’t care who answers it, I want it answered.” 

Stella stood up, “What amazing timing, so do we!” she peered at Jesse. The others, even Jesse, stood up, alarmed by Aiden crashing in unexpectedly. Olivia was jumping down the stairs and would’ve crashed had she not held onto the railings with her dear life. 

“Great, but I’m asking first. It’ll be quick and it might answer you-”

“Spit it out, then!” Cassie crossed her arms impatiently.

“Were the portals in the shrines made for accessing other worlds?” he asked them.

A few people relaxed hearing the question, glad knowing nothing too bad had happened. That didn’t make them any less puzzled, however.

“If we’re going by The Hero’s Banishment’s story--along with The Hero’s Awakening’s goals--no.” Stella answered.

Gill’s face lit up a little, “And any of them that can go to other worlds are technically failures. They weren’t made to do that.”

Aiden shook his fist, “I knew it!” he said to himself.

Jesse voiced his confusion, “Sorry for interrupting, but what’s going on?” 

“Jesse!” Aiden pointed at the curly haired boy, everyone stepped out of the way, making a clear path between the two. Aiden began getting closer and closer to Jesse, a smile of disbelief on his face, unable to contain whatever idea he conjured up with any longer.

“You and Olivia! You didn’t enter a different world! You’ve entered a different universe!”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter next chapter!  
This one was fun to write, hope you guys'll like it! ;<;b

“I’m sorry--What?” Jesse fumbled with his words. How do you react to a statement like that?

Aiden saw his friends--and Olivia’s--thrown off expressions. A few had mouths hanging open while others’ faces practically begged for him to elaborate. Stella being the more extreme of the bunch with widened eyes.

“Think about it!” He said to the bewildered crowd “Jesse’s been way too cooperative, he’s described events that don’t match up with ours--heck--he doesn’t know what we’re talking about! And since the portals weren’t made for entering different worlds, the next logical idea would be they came from another universe.” 

Maya raised her head up, “That… Makes sense.” She joined Aiden’s side. 

“No, hold on, how did ANY part of your conclusion sound ‘logical’?” Stella sputtered.

“Yeah, You can’t say somethin’ makes sense ‘n… Expect it to.” Gill raised a brow.

Olivia hopped off the stairs and went to Jesse as quickly as she could, ducking down to avoid attention. Not like she would care if everyone was watching her right now. She found her mind too wrapped up around the mere IDEA of entering a different universe being possible. ‘Hearing it out loud, it’s so obvious! Why didn’t I think of it before?’ She questioned. Maybe she was too shaken up on being surrounded by enemies and their bizarre behaviors to consider it a possibility. She clutched her small book tightly and slid to Jesse’s side.

“It’d explain why everything’s felt unnatural.” Maya shifted towards Jesse and Olivia. “You said it yourself back at the library, Stella. It was weird around Olivia.”

“Yes. I did.” Stella admitted, “But it was specifically about Olivia. I didn’t say anything about Jesse.” 

“Yeah, I gotta agree with Stella here.” Spoke Gill, “No offense t’you Aiden, it’s just… Your idea feels really extreme.”  
Gill looked back to the neat pile of books on the table “ ‘N these books are super old, so if we go offa them, they could be outdated or wrong.”

Stella sighed with relief and placed her hand on Gill’s shoulder, “Thank you, Gill. Glad to know I’m not the only one who thinks this situation is crazy--Wait a second. Cassie!” 

The red head jumped up.

“What are your thoughts on this whole universe… Jesse… Portal situation?” Stella waved her hands about.

“Maybe… There’s an in-between?” Cassie received an array of weird looks from everyone. She pushed up her glasses, “Like you said, we don’t know anything about portals. Maybe Jesse snatched Olivia from another universe and something… Happened?”  
Cassie began tugging on a strand of her red hair, “Maybe messed up memories is a side effect of going through portals--I don’t know! If I knew more about portals, I could come up with a better idea.”

Gill blinked a couple of times.  
“So… You’re in the middle?” he tilted his head.

“Yeah. Guess I am.” Cassie shoved her hands into the pockets of her hoodie.

Gill nodded. Stella decided not to comment on her friend’s statement.

“Adding onto what Gill said,” Stella started, “I don’t recall any books about SUCCESSFUL portals.” 

“Do you have a better theory?” Maya folded her arms.  
Stella straightened her posture and adjusted her top, “Yes, I believe I do.”

Stella spun around and faced Aiden. She pushed her hair behind her ear and started,  
“I’m sure we all remember Cavern City…” 

Everyone listened in on Stella’s potential answer to this whole mess. Olivia was invested too despite knowing whatever Stella would say is false. Jesse became curious himself.  
However, as Stella continued her explanation, something in Jesse’s mind was preventing him from concentrating. 

‘All this talk about some city I’ve never heard of. If they’re so certain I’ve been there before, wouldn’t they find it weird I don’t remember it?’ 

Then Jesse remembered; this wasn’t some random city he’s never heard of, a place stowed away or hidden from history, this was a city in a different universe.

This thought ignited a flame which fueled his train of thought. Its tempo was getting faster and faster by the second.

He and Olivia had not entered a world. They’ve entered a place far more distant. They were in an entire different universe. Away from their home, their loved ones, and by the sounds of it, no known way to get back. They’re stuck. Stuck with Aiden and Maya and Cassie and Stella and all these people who hate him. 

Aiden’s group didn’t seem too caught up about this “universe” situation. Their lack of attention made Jesse feel worse. A different panic took over him. Not the type of panic you’d feel where your life could’ve been ended, or when lightning would flash. This panic made him want to escape. Like a fly that had been trapped in a bowl, crashing about, desperately wanting a way out but no way of knowing how.

“Olivia,” Jesse muttered, his voice shaky and hands clammy. His words mixed with his breathing. He didn’t want to interrupt Stella or have the others hearing them. This was a conversation between the two of them. 

“Yeah?” Olivia said back with a voice as quiet. 

“We’re… We’re in another universe.” They both knew. Everyone did. But the new weight of the situation gave those words a new kind of impact.

“I know.” She clasped her hands together. Her whole body was stiff, “I’ve been sorta… Freaking out about it. Internally. A bit of an existential crisis.” 

Jesse nodded.

Olivia added on, “From what I know, I’m not supposed to be here. It’s been bothering me. A lot.” 

She was gone in this world. She didn’t want to believe she was ‘dead’. Maybe the other Olivia went missing or ran away. Maybe she was kidnapped. Maybe she went through a portal and never came back. Anything, literally anything, would be better than knowing she was dead. 

No matter how haunting the idea was, a dark peculiarity became apparent to her; not only did she want to hear about how she might’ve died, but if she had a grave. And if she could see it.  
A weird internal battle was going on in her head. “Who would want to know how they died?” and “Who wouldn’t?”

“I have no idea how we’re going to prove we’re telling the truth.” Jesse said, keeping his voice low. “We have nothing physical on us--even if we did, I don’t think it’d help any. Anything we say could be shot down, unless-” Olivia had to nudge Jesse mid sentence and directed his attention towards Stella who, along with everyone else, was waiting for his reply.

His eyes darted about while he tried to recall what Stella was talking about. He could recall snippets of “Cavern City”. Were they expecting him to defend himself? An explanation?  
Anything was better than remaining silent.

“Stella, you bring up a lot of solid points, I can’t deny that.” He tried sounding as assured as possible, having no idea what Stella had said. “There is one major issue: I have zero idea what Cavern City is. At all. I didn’t know it existed.”

Stella groaned loudly, “I wasn’t only talking about Cavern City! You can’t FORGET a major event from last week yet somehow remember how much you loathe us! It’s inconsistent!”

“Last week?” Olivia questioned, brushing the hair out of her eyes, “We were training with Radar in a forest last week. Nothing about a city.” Olivia said. She remembered showing Radar how to focus and to always be aware of his surroundings; he was quite jumpy but the fighting spirit was there. Radar lost his glasses at one point and continued charging towards a monster. It was actually a tree. She didn’t have the heart to tell him.

Stella must’ve had a whole speech debunking Jesse’s story. How everything was clearly fabricated and she had all the facts to prove otherwise; Olivia recalling--confirming--what Jesse had said must’ve blown down a great portion of her validity. 

Stella sunk down into one of the couches with her mouth left open.  
“You truly don’t remember Cavern City?” She asked.

“Doesn’t ring a bell. I’m Sorry.” Jesse shook his head.

“I am curious about this city. Could you elaborate?” Olivia asked the group.

Stella perked up from her seat.  
Everyone looked like they were ready to share what they knew.

Stella started, “To make a long story short, it’s a city deep underground which can be accessed through a portal--” 

Cassie Rose interrupted, “A portal Jesse went through hoping it’d lead to the location of his crazy, eyeless jerk!”

“And when he didn’t see any signs of him, he started ripping it apart--” Maya added on before getting cut off by Gill “Dunno why ya thought that would do somethin’.”  
Gill’s comment was aimed towards Jesse.

Aiden stepped up, “We had to come over and--”

“Beat some sense into you!” Cassie said, glaring at Jesse and curling her hands to fists. She looked back at Aiden who wasn’t too happy with her addition.  
“Sorry. Wasn’t needed.”

Aiden stayed quiet for a moment.  
“Yeah, that’s the jist of it. We confronted you in the city’s palace, fought, a real bad quake happened and wrecked everything. You--I mean--our Jesse hit his head real hard and was out cold for a few days.” 

Olivia started brainstorming. Jesse, on the other hand, had no idea where to START with this load of information.

He felt guilt building up inside him. 

‘Why?’ Was the first question to pop into mind.  
Why is he feeling guilty for a crime he’s never committed? Was it because his name was attached to the situation? Not only was Cassie Rose, Aiden, Maya, Gill, and Stella hurt by his actions, but an entire CITY filled with innocent people too.  
He didn’t know how he could make things better.

“You know…” Olivia broke the silence, “The Cavern City situation sounds a lot like the time Aiden took over Sky City.” While it wasn’t an exact recreation, she found the similarities between the two events interesting.

The room was quiet. Aiden and his group were completely bewildered. No one knew what to say. It didn’t help Olivia made it sound like a call back everyone knew about and understood. Someone let out a chuckle in disbelief.

Jesse nearly choked on his own spit the moment those words left her mouth.

“Remember… When Aiden tried to...?” She slowly turned her head to Jesse. His eyes were wide.

“Did you… Not tell Aiden about this?” Olivia asked.

Jesse’s heart had stopped. Heck, everything stopped. The one thing he avoided mentioning and Olivia so happened to reach that comparison. Jesse saw Aiden out of the corner of his eyes, more shocked than him.

“I’m sorry--Sky city?” Aiden asked.

“I…” Jesse said slowly, “... Didn’t think it was relevant?” He shrugged uncertainly.  
Probably not his strongest excuse. He originally didn’t want to share the story again in fear Aiden would get upset or they’d be reminiscing on the times they hated each other. The situation was bad enough already. 

“I’m sorry, you didn’t think Sky City was relevant? In this situation? With Aiden?” 

Jesse could only shrug again. There wasn’t any way to defend himself that wouldn’t make him look like an even BIGGER idiot.

“Jesse!” Olivia put her hands on her hips.

Jesse sputtered and immediately pointed at her “Did you tell Cassie Rose about the murders?!” 

“The what.” Cassie said.

“Wait, what happened in Sky City?!” Aiden asked again, visibly freaking out.

“You tried to kill Jesse.” Olivia briefly explained before going back to Jesse “I don’t see how Cassie’s murders are related to you not telling Aiden about Sky City!”

“I thought he already KNEW!” Jesse exclaimed.

“We’re in a different UNIVERSE, Jesse!” Olivia shot back.

Jesse threw his arms into the air “We learned that not even an HOUR ago, how was I supposed to know?!” 

“Hold it, hold it!” Stella stood between the two, putting their little freak out on hold. “I’m sorry, now I KNOW you’re lying. Aiden? Hurting Jesse? He couldn’t hurt Jesse even if you paid him to!” She forced out a laugh.

Jesse pushed her away, “Well I hate to burst your bubble but he tried killing me TWICE.”

Aiden went white. His pupils shrunk. 

His friends were equally as shocked. Stella was speechless.

Gill looked at Aiden then to Olivia and Jesse.  
“Are you sure we’re talking about the same Aiden?” He tilted his head.

Jesse stammered on his words. What type of question was THAT? What OTHER Aidens were there?! 

“YEAH, I’m sure I remember the guy who attempted to kill me multiple times!” 

Cassie stepped in, “Okay let’s stop talking about attempted murder and start talking about the successful ones! Explain!” she jabbed her finger into Jesse’s chest.

Jesse shoved the hand down, “We were in some big mansion with a bunch of other people! You killed 3 innocent people and then tried to add me and my friends to the list! You were-- You were insane!”

Cassie’s hand curled into a tight fist; she was doing everything in her power to not sock Jesse in the face right now. Maya saw the fire blazing in Cassie’s eyes and placed her hand on her friend’s shoulder, settling Cassie down.

“Big talk coming from you!” Gill shouted back, sizing up Jesse and cracking his knuckles. Aiden shouted something to Gill then the room bursted into a large argument. People were yelling over each other and exclaiming what one person did to another. Accusations were mixing up with MORE accusations. Fingers were being pointed, voices had started to merge together into complete nonsense. While Jesse couldn’t hear every curse, threat, and claim thrown at him, he could feel everyone’s resentment. Olivia was extremely overwhelmed with what was going on and couldn’t decipher who was saying what, or how to respond. Her head kept zipping around from person to person, trying to make sense of what was being said.

If it wasn’t someone shouting at Jesse, it was Aiden or Maya who were raising their voices trying to get everybody to settle down. 

Jesse caught a small piece of someone’s rant, “... And you hurt anybody you don’t like…!”  
“Hurt?!” Jesse repeated, “I did nothing wrong except stopping you people from hurting me and my friends!”  
This was getting more and more upsetting. He couldn’t hear what they were accusing him of and wasn’t given a chance to share his side of the situation. 

The shouting soon stopped and everyone had to catch their breaths.

Not knowing how long this silence would last, Jesse started talking.  
“Do you guys only remember the bad experiences we’ve had? Do none of you recall the times we’ve saved the world? We stopped the Wither Storm, the--!”

“What in Sweet Hero is a Wither Storm?!” Stella asked, horrified.

Jesse froze. His mouth gaping open as he stared at Stella. He tried making the shape of the wither storm with his hands, “It’s this giant, overpowered wither abomination Ivor created--” 

“What’s an Ivor?!” Gill asked on the same level of horrification as Stella.

“Oh my gosh--” Jesse put his hands on his head and had to take a deep breath before continuing, “He was an ex member of The Order Of The Stone!” 

Jesse was about to go on when he noticed an equal mixture of both confused and judgemental stares. Jesse returned a puzzled look back. Did they not…?

“You know? The Order Of The Stone? Gabriel the Warrior,” He started counting off the members with his fingers, “Ellegaard the Redstone Engineer, Magnus the--”

“Those sound fake.” Maya said.  
Yes, she did believe Jesse, but at this point she had to admit this whole thing was starting to sound ridiculous. 

Stella scoffed, “Yeah. If they’re such a big deal how come we’ve never heard of them?”

“IT--!” Jesse threw his arms into the air, “BECAUSE--!” He turned to Olivia with a look of desperation “Olivia please tell me The Order of the Stone is real. I didn’t hallucinate them, right?”

“No they’re totally real.” She reassured him.  
Patting him on the back, she continued, “I still remember embarrassing myself in Red Stonia!” Could’ve picked anything else BESIDES that one moment but it was the first thing to come to mind.

“Hold on.” Maya cut in between Jesse and Olivia. She stared down at Jesse, “Have we been having this whole conversation without you knowing what entering a different universe means?” 

Jesse sealed his lips. He didn’t want to answer.

“Jesse.” Maya said. 

He stared at the floor as his face grew a light shade of red .

“Isn’t it like going to the Nether? Or a different world except…” He mumbled, still avoiding eye contact, “... Farther?”  
Jesse caught a glance of Olivia being dumbfounded by his response.

Maya breathed in and folded her arms “Well, you got one thing right.”

“Like going to a different world?” Stella repeated Jesse’s words.  
“Oh no, it is FAR more complicated.” 

“Elaborate?” Jesse asked.

Gill immediately shot his arm into the air eagerly, “Oh! I know somethin’ bout it! Mevia ‘n Hadrian taught me!” 

“Hm.” Stella stepped aside.  
“Take it away.” 

Gill smiled brightly, as if proud of himself, and shut his eyes tightly. Concentrating.

“Y’see, when you go to another universe, you might see people you recognize there.” He held up both of his hands, index fingers up. “But a lot of different events could’ve taken place in THEIR universe that didn’t happen in YOUR universe. This changes a whole bunch of things for the world and the people livin’ there.”

Jesse stood still and thought to himself. Trying to think of what Gill said in a way he could understand. “So it’s like… Entering a different room in a house?”

“No!” Stella huffed impatiently.“If you go from your bedroom to your bathroom, you’re still in the same house. Entering another universe is like entering a completely different house! A new layout, the people living there have a completely different history than you--you get the picture.”

Aiden cleared his throat and adjusted his jacket, “Alright, now that that’s out of the way, our next plan should be figuring out how to get Jesse and Olivia ho-” 

Stella shoved her hand in Aiden’s face, promptly shutting him up.

“I’m going to stop you right there.” She put her hand down. “Aiden, I know you want to do what’s right, bring Olivia back to her--hopefully real--universe, but we can’t blindly accept whatever Jesse’s a part of!” 

Aiden frowned.

Stella clasped her hands together, “Listen, this could be an elaborate trap set up by The Awakening! We can’t take any chances or waltz into portal territory completely unprepared!”

Stella kept rambling on with her concerns. Gill kept nodding to every point Stella made, Jesse was listening to the one sided conversation with confusion, Cassie kept pulling on a strand of her hair while sitting on the arm of the couch, and Maya was watching Aiden trying to remain patient. 

Then there was Olivia. She had been the quietest of them all. She had never been so amazed yet terrified at the same time. To be in the place where history had changed, a place where she lived and died in, it was mind blowing.  
The concept of another universe--reality--made sense. However, people of the same name and faces she and Jesse knew leading different lives fascinated her. Aiden, Cassie, Maya, Gill, Stella, their stories--their entire lives--have been altered. They’ve experienced hardships she’s never had, they’ve formed different connections, bonds, the way they acted and thought… It’s all changed. Should she consider these people enemies anymore?  
Are they the same people? Or were they strangers who wore the faces of the familiar.

Jesse faked a cough. Loudly. Olivia was brought back to reality and Stella stopped mid-lecture. Stella turned around to face Jesse with a glare. 

Jesse gave her a small wave “Yeah, uhm… What’s The Hero’s Awakening?”  
The moment those words left his mouth all warmth and liveliness of the room had been sucked out and Jesse found himself surrounded by rigid people with hate-filled eyes. He felt their glares pierce through him. 

It was too late to retract his question.

“I... Keep hearing that name and--”

“It’s a cult.” Maya answered coldly.

Jesse froze up. His throat tightened. His mind repeated those words over and over.

A cult.

A cult.

A cult.

He began breathing fast like he had awoken from a nightmare. That couldn’t be true. It’s a lie. It’s a lie. They wanted to scare him. This shouldn’t scare him. Why did this scare him?  
Jesse had to force his rigid body to look back up at Maya. He licked his lips, about to ask another question--

Suddenly, there was knocking at the door, causing everyone to jump. They all stared. Not saying a word.

“Come in.” Aiden said aloud with hesitation. 

The door swiftly opened and in came Radar, whose face was hidden behind a clipboard and a pen held tightly in his other hand. At first glance his appearance could’ve been mistaken for the usual attire Jesse had always seen him in. Upon further inspection, he saw Radar wore a green, one buttoned suit which hid most of his light brown vest underneath it along with a blue tie that popped from the suit. He also wore dark, cool gray straight pants and polished, black oxford shoes. His hair was still the same. Thick, black, and swooped up. Maybe it was a little shorter?

He was far less… Lively. The energy that typically accompanied Radar was completely absent and instead there stood a man who spoke flatly and stood stiffly.

“Hello, sir. I thought I’d let you know the guards have searched the shrine thoroughly and have discovered a man made--” He lowered his clipboard for a split second before yelping and immediately covering his face again. His pen fell to the floor.

“Wh…” Radar trembled, “What is HE doing here?” He pointed at Jesse, his hands shaking. His flat tone became wobbly.

Aiden approached him carefully “Radar, I know this looks bad--”

“Terrible, sir.” 

“But this might not be the real Jesse, or our Jesse. We were just talking about how he’s from another universe!” 

“Possibly.” Cassie Rose added. She had shoved her hands back into her pockets and eyed Radar with a scowl on her face.

Aiden rolled his eyes and bobbed his head, “Possibly.”

Radar cautiously lowered his clipboard to get a better look at Jesse, who was smiling warmly, grateful to see a familiar friendly face. 

Radar breathed in and adjusted his tie. He continued holding onto the board with a tight grip as his shaking eased. His quick breaths soon slowed and his once distressed face turned into curiosity. Then to fascination. He pushed up his glasses and squinted at the brunet as he slowly approached him. Once he was a foot away from Jesse he stopped to scan him.  
Radar stuck his hand out and studied his hand, flipping it about like he was expecting something to happen.

“I do feel a sort of… Disconnection with him if.” He stroked his chin.  
“He has all the qualities of Jesse--I mean--it IS Jesse, yet I don’t find myself… As petrified around him.”

Radar stared into Jesse’s eyes for a bit longer before his face scrunched up.

“However, I can’t continue looking at his face.” He separated the two of them with his board.

Jesse knew Radar must’ve had a good reason for saying what he did, but it still stung.

Cassie Rose grinded her shoe into the floor “I guess if we ever have another universe problem, we’ll get Mr. Know-it-all to help out next time.” she grumbled under her breath.

Radar turned around to talk back and jumped when he saw how many people were in the room. Gracious, was it crowded. He scanned the whole room; he spotted Maya, who flashed him a smile, and then he saw--

“Olivia?” He let out a small gasp. He hugged his board and let his mouth hang for a moment. “This is--This…”  
Radar combed his hair with his hands. He started to pace “Oh Hero… You said they’re from another universe?” 

“Yeah.” Maya nodded.

“These two--” He looked at Olivia and Jesse then back to Aiden “Were these the two ‘kids’ you brought to question from before?”

“Yeah,” Aiden said, “It’s a wild story--”  
Everyone began talking to Radar about their eventful evening. All except for Olivia and Jesse, who were standing a distance away from the group, silent in a room full of conversation. Olivia couldn’t think of any way she could contribute. Aiden’s group was probably going to retell what they already knew. 

Jesse found himself unable to stay still. He was tapping his foot faster and faster waiting for everyone to finish their seemingly never ending conversation. A minute had yet to pass before Jesse cupped his hands around his mouth and said “Hey, Radar reminded me of something!” Loud enough for them to hear. 

The talking dwindled.

Jesse stepped up.

“You’ve heard bits and pieces about yourselves. What about us? What do you know about us?” 

Olivia joined his side, “Yeah, I’m curious too.” Her eyes instinctively landed on Cassie Rose who pressed her lips together. 

“Right,” Cassie said looking away, “I did promise we’d talk.” 

“Well, we can start. What do you know about me?” Jesse asked. He didn’t want anyone to change the subject, he didn’t care if people didn’t trust him, he wanted an answer. They were gonna talk about this right here. Right now.

All talking had ceased. 

Jesse waited for somebody--anybody--to start talking. No one uttered a word. Were they afraid to? Or did they not know how to begin?

“You’re mental.” Gill said, breaking the silence.

Jesse flinched. Yes, he wanted to hear about himself, but the first bit of description he’s finally gotten and it was that?

Aiden was about to speak before Stella intervened, “The word ‘mental’ is rather vague. I think the words ‘A Two-timing lunatic’ paint a better picture.” 

Jesse heard another name shot at him before several more came. No one was shouting over each other unlike last time, so he was able to make out a few words.  
None of them were positive.  
Jesse managed to hear Radar, in his quiet voice, describe him as ‘An absolute madman’.  
Mixed in with their faces of disgust and anger made the spotlight on him more overwhelming. 

Before the room could spiral out of control again Aiden raised his voice, “Alright, alright.” 

Everyone quieted down  
.  
“I think you all got your points across.” He eyed them all as he pushed through the group and went to Jesse and Olivia. 

“Ignore them.” He told Jesse. “A lot has happened to us over the years and--” He closed his eyes and breathed in, “And it was too much for Jesse. He resorted to more… Unethical approaches. Things got out of hand.”

Aiden’s face lightened up and folded his arms “But Jesse’s still our friend. And we’re going to do everything we can to get him back.”

Aiden continued his speech in a confident tone. Jesse was drawn in. Olivia found herself drifting aside and looking past Aiden’s shoulder. She caught the expressions of his friends. They were uneasy. A few were shaking their heads. They didn’t look annoyed, but were visibly upset. Olivia studied their reactions for a moment longer before bringing her attention back to Aiden.  
“And what do you mean by ‘a lot has happened’?” Olivia asked.

Aiden’s smile weakened.

He didn’t say anything at first. When he finally did, he started off slowly.  
“We went through some big battles. Had to save the world from an enormous lava creature, we’re still dealing with The Hero’s Awakening...” His smile faded completely and he locked eyes with Olivia, “... Lost friends.” 

Cassie joined Aiden’s side, “And Olivia, as you probably know, you were one of them.” 

A pit formed in Olivia’s stomach along with a lump in her throat that refused to go down. She held her hands together and thought ‘Of course.’  
Of course it ended up being the worst case scenario. Of course her dying ended up being true. It couldn’t have been anything else. 

With the most steady voice she could muster up she asked “What happened?” 

Aiden started biting on inside of his cheek, “You were out exploring an old, underground temple in the middle of the day. Then, out of nowhere, a horrible quake happened in the middle of the day. No one was expecting it to happen, we were all caught by surprise.” 

He clenched his fists, “We were told a large crack opened up and... You fell in.”

He breathed in and stepped back. The story ended on an abrupt note, but Olivia believed she was told the perfect amount. Nothing severely graphic nor too vague to make her have to ask more questions. She had finally received her answer. There was finally relief. It was done. She wouldn’t have to worry about questions constantly eating her up. She had no reason to think about it any more.

“You know,” Maya said, leaning against the wall, “Jesse and Olivia being from a different universe is kinda nice. Our Olivia isn’t back from the dead, but this isn’t the Jesse we know.” They murmured to one another. A few heads nodded.

Jesse folded his arms, “So exploring is out of the picture because people will think I’m some maniac and Olivia isn’t supposed to be here at all?” He sounded genuinely disappointed knowing he’d have to be confined into a single area with these people. He knows they aren’t technically his enemies but they still didn’t like him.

“That might not be the case.” Radar said. His body faced Olivia and Jesse while his face was hidden behind the clipboard again, “If you two would like, I wouldn’t mind giving a tour of Obsidian Town. I could show you around and tell you its history.”

“Really?” Jesse’s face lit up. Olivia was equally enthusiastic. She had caught quick glimpses of this area, so a tour would be a wonderful opportunity to learn more about this town! Maybe they’d learn about this universe too!  
Plus Jesse wouldn’t be cooped up inside their whole time here. She couldn’t remember the last time Jesse stayed in one place without busting out or exploring.

Maya and Aiden exchanged concerned looks.

“Are you sure?” Maya asked.

“One of us can go with you.” Aiden offered.

Radar shook his head, “No, I insist. I think having a tour would be beneficial for the three of us! We’d do it in the middle of the day when everyone’s sleeping to avoid any unwanted attention.”  
He turned back to Jesse and Olivia, “As long as it’s okay with the two of you. I’m a bit of an early bird myself, but I can always find a different time--”

“No!” Jesse hopped up, unable to contain his smile and scaring Radar. “That’s perfect!” 

“If you say so.” Aiden said, he shifted back to Radar “But could it wait? They just got here.” 

Olivia added on “Maybe we could do it tomorrow?” She looked at Jesse, “I think I’m speaking for the both of us when I say I am exhausted. This is a lot to take in at 3 AM.”

“It’s 4 AM now.” Gill stated.

“Jeez, no wonder I feel like garbage. A different universe on top of the fact it’s 4 in the morning? It’s a miracle I hadn’t passed out yet.” Jesse said. 

Everyone, except for Olivia, was put off. 

Aiden pushed aside the weird feeling, “Yeah, I can imagine how draining this whole situation must be for the two of you.” 

He began making his way to the stairs and motioned for them to follow him.  
“We have a guest room,” He looked back at the pair, “There’s only one bed though, hope that’s okay.”

Jesse stretched, “Yep! Don’t mind at all. Worst case, I’ll sleep on the floor.” 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Aiden opened the door to the guest room and it looked… Surprisingly nice. 

Jesse wasn’t too sure what he was expecting from a guest room in Aiden’s house. He imagined it being cramped or dirty, but the room was rather spacious and tidy. The spruce floors and birch walls were bare, so the main features of this room was it’s single window, a neatly done, red bed with a light brown night stand beside it and a small lamp. Several boxes of various sizes surrounded a desk which was pushed far into the left corner of the room. 

Jesse was delighted to see the bed was decently sized and could fit the two of them with no need to fight over the sheets. Olivia was glad Jesse wouldn’t have to sleep on the ground. However, she felt an uneasy emptiness accompany the room. The place was weirdly barren for how big it was and the boxes in the corner made her wonder if this used to be someone’s bedroom.  
‘You’re overthinking about a guest room.’ Olivia told herself. She let out a yawn.

“Hope this’ll do.” Aiden said, “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.” 

“Thanks, Aiden.” Olivia smiled. Aiden returned the smile and left the two alone. Her appreciation was genuine and… Odd. She never thought the day she was grateful for Aiden’s help would come. Their Aiden or not, it was weird nonetheless.

Jesse had flung off his shoes and flopped onto the bed, letting out a loud groan. He covered his face with his arm and laid still. He felt the blanket with his other hand. It was thick. You could suffocate a person with it if you were determined enough.

“I love beds.” Jesse said with a muffled voice, “So much.” 

Olivia chuckled and slipped into the bed, placing the small book she’s held onto the nightstand. Her legs were sore. When was the last time she sat down today? She ran into the jungle temple with Jesse, walked all the way to Obsidian town, walked to and from the library, not to mention all the standing around. Who cares?! She was in bed! She was looking forward to the tour with Radar, imagining the different structures this universe had to offer; curious about what’s changed or remained the same, what features they add to their buildings and why. Maybe Radar would talk about the shrines!  
‘I shouldn’t be getting this excited before going to sleep.’ She took a few deep breaths to collect herself.

Jesse got under the blanket, “G’night Olivia.” 

Olivia smiled, “Night, Jesse.”  
She tucked herself in and closed her eyes.

Five minutes passed and Jesse was still awake. Five became tenl. Ten became thirty. He was still wide awake. Jesse found himself stuck. Stuck with his own thoughts and what he’s learned. 

He scratched the idea of awakening Olivia to talk.  
‘You already dragged her through a portal, entered another universe, discovered she died, and now you want to wake her up at the crack of dawn?’ Jesse hoped Olivia was sleeping soundly. She didn’t deserve to be kept up all night, plagued with horrid possibilities and regret.  
Why’d he have to be so thoughtless when discovering the portal? Why did he go through it? Why did he drag poor Olivia with him?

He’ll make it up to her. He’ll find a way back home as soon as possible.

‘I wonder…’ He shifted around. ‘How awful the ‘me’ in this universe is…’ Bad enough for people to reject the idea he and Olivia came from another universe and instead believing Jesse’s current actions and nature were a front. An act.  
It was enough to make him wonder what he--his counterpart--did to Aiden and his friends to have them believe Jesse’s kindness towards Olivia and his cooperativeness was fake.

There was another him.

Another Jesse. 

Another Jesse who had lived a completely different life than him, who had history with everyone in this house. A Jesse who had caused others to suffer. 

He had entered a place where he already exists. He was stuck with this Jesse. It terrified him.

What happened to him?

Jesse snapped out of his thoughts and could hear a conversation going on downstairs. He wished he could decipher the muffles. 

But he had to sleep.

Jesse wasn’t sure if he COULD sleep. The sun was already cracking the sky, slowly releasing hues of orange and pushing away the dark blues of the night.

His mind couldn’t settle down. 

How could he sleep?

‘Try.’ He told himself. He should at least try. He’ll need the energy for tomorrow.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Aiden took his time getting back downstairs to the others. He smiled to himself. He didn’t want to say it outloud, but Olivia’s “Thank you” made this stressful evening better. 

He was trying to figure out how they would begin looking for a way to deal with this whole mess. None of them knew what activated the portal in the first place. Even if they did, finding the materials would be a difficult task. He could check out the journal Hadrian lent him for ideas or maybe ask Hadrian and Mevia themselves. If they taught Gill about universes, maybe they knew about the portals for them.

‘Petra has more… Interesting items. Could be worth stopping by her place.’ He reminded himself. As he approached the stairs, he could hear his friends--mainly Stella--talking.

“...This is why I have such a hard time believing Aiden’s theory.”

Aiden came to a stop and stood still, listening in on the conversation.

“I can take Jesse forgetting a majority of his life, I can take the idea of The Hero’s Awakening going the extra step and being able to pull off necromancy! I can’t believe a different universe. It feels like such a stretch!”

“Necromancy’s more logical than a universe with a good Jesse existing?” Maya asked.

Stella folded her arms, “We don’t have any concrete evidence! Come on, he said Aiden attempted to kill him. Twice. Doesn’t that sound ridiculous?”

‘It does.” Maya admitted, “But Jesse wasn’t talking about the Aiden we know.”

“Puh-lease!” Stella laughed, “How bad could the Aiden in ‘his universe’ be?”  
Stella’s laughter died down and she stopped to think.

“I do find it interesting he mainly talked about Aiden and Cassie,” Stella said, “Makes me curious what the rest of us are like in his supposed ‘universe’.”

“He did recognize us...” Gill stroked his beard.

“Didn’t like us.” Maya added.

Aiden leaned against the wall as the conversation began fading. A sour feeling began to build up inside his stomach. He tried to ignore it and shift his focus back onto getting Jesse and Olivia home. Instead, he began thinking about Jesse himself. What he said earlier.

He didn’t know why his other-self went to Sky City nor what he did there. The most context he got was from Olivia saying what happened in Cavern City ‘reminded her of Sky City’ and he nearly killed Jesse twice. Aiden’s head became hot. 

‘You would never do that.’ Aiden tried to reassure himself.  
He saw Sky City was a warning. A peek into what he could become. Who’s to say he wouldn’t end up like the Aiden Jesse knew given enough time?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Cassie Rose looked up and spotted Aiden sulking in the stairway. She slipped past Stella and Maya along with an extremely invested Gill. Radar went back to pick up the pen he dropped from earlier. Hopefully he wouldn’t comment on her sudden absence. 

She approached Aiden.

“You doing okay?” Cassie asked and sat on the railings of the stairs.

“Thinking.” He answered.

“Thinking about what Jesse said?”

“Mm. I’m just--” He breathed in, “Why didn’t he tell us about the destruction of an entire city?”

“Maybe for the same reason none of us told him about Cavern City.” She suggested, resting her head back against the wall.

He hadn’t thought about it like that. Aiden wasn’t certain what Cassie’s--or his other friends--reasons for keeping quiet were, but he felt like he had to keep his mouth shut. When Rose first mentioned the possibility of amnesia, he wanted to brush the idea off and forget about it.  
But he didn’t. In fact, the longer the night went on, the more he found himself believing Jesse lost chunks of his memory. Aiden didn’t want to bring up any reminders of the past; he was afraid it’d trigger Jesse’s memory and everything would spiral out of control again. 

Of course, Aiden’s concerns did fade when Jesse shared his past experiences with him. No matter how strange Jesse’s stories sounded, a part of Aiden knew he was telling the truth. 

He didn’t have to worry about Jesse regaining his memory anymore. Instead, he started worrying about their Jesse. The one who’s still out there.

“What about you?” Aiden asked Rose, “Aren’t you bothered by what he told you?” Hearing about how he almost killed Jesse felt like a punch in the gut. He couldn’t imagine how Rose must’ve felt when it was announced she murdered three people completely out of left field.

Cassie scrunched up her nose and shook her head, “Nope.”

Aiden blinked, “Really?”

She shrugged, “It caught me off guard. Jesse calling me insane was what got me the most. The whole ‘mansion murders’ sounded ridiculous. It doesn’t bother me.” 

It bothered her.

It disturbed her.

She started off disgusted by Jesse’s words, but as she continued thinking about what he said more and more she felt disgusted with herself. Was it herself or this other Cassie Rose?

‘How could she?’ Cassie asked herself.

‘Could I do that?’ An uneasiness grew inside her. Cassie was still on the fence with Jesse coming from another universe. A part of her was hoping he wasn’t. She’d be eternally thankful if Jesse revealed everything he’s said today was a lie. 

Curiosity clawed at her. Begging her to find out more.  
A part of her mind knew it didn’t matter what she found out or what motivated the other Cassie. No matter the excuse, she took the lives of innocent people. The mere thought filled her with pure, unkempt rage. After what she’s witnessed, after what she’s been through, what would set her off to kill? Thinking about this made her frustratingly sick.

“Besides,” The two heard Stella say rather loudly, “I think you’re forgetting another important factor: None of the portals built before worked, so what makes The Shrine Of Eyes the exception?”

“She does bring up a valid point.” Radar said.  
He began jotting notes down onto the paper his clipboard held.

“Why it was successful doesn’t matter anymore.” Aiden announced, scaring the rest of the group. He stepped off the stairs, “What matters is knowing how we can reactivate it and getting those guys back home.”

Everyone nodded in unison.

Aiden saw Stella open her mouth. “Even if we don’t believe Jesse. I’m sure none of us like the idea of two Jesse’s running around.”  
Stella closed her mouth and shuddered at the thought.

Radar raised hand.

“What’s up, Radar?” Aiden asked.

Radar pushed up his glasses and cleared his throat, “Yes--Uh, Sir--I was wondering if… I could be caught up on what’s happened.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooh I've been real excited to write this chapter for some time!!  
Hope you guys enjoy!!

It was mainly Aiden and Cassie Rose who told Radar everything that had happened since they left The Shrine Of Eyes; Radar listened keenly and wrote down as much as he possibly could. He’d ask questions along the way and Aiden tried to answer them the best he could or would outright admit he didn’t know yet.  
Once Radar had been filled in on everything he wondered if he could be of any use to them. Everyone was on board except for Cassie Rose, who was the most hesitant of the bunch, but Aiden told her they needed all the help they could get, and a friend like Radar with his knowledge being a part of their team would certainly be useful.

After their discussion, Gill made dinner for everybody--though Radar declined--and they all sat around tossing suggestions for what their next course of action should be. Most were picked apart or retracted, no one was certain on what to do. They had ideas such as going to Petra and seeing if she had any items related to portals but they needed to know what they wanted. Cassie did mention Petra trades items with other people; since the portal had been activated recently, she could have interacted with someone who took part in said-activation. It was definitely worth checking out.

Aiden said they shouldn’t let the books from the library sit around; they could read some before going to bed to spark ideas. While they were all grabbing a book Aiden also suggested they go to bed early. He was met with a few moans.

“I know we all like to stay up late,” Aiden started, “but we’re gonna be busy tomorrow. Plus I’ll be waking you all early.” Aiden grabbed the small journal from Hadrian’s sitting on the kitchen table.

“Come on, Aiden!” Cassie pleaded, “It’s only 8 AM...ish.”

Radar jumped out of his seat, “Have I really been here for nearly 4 hours?!”  
He collected his clipboard and pen and held them tightly, hurriedly making his way to the door.  
“I apologize for taking so much of your time. I didn’t intend on staying for so long.”

“Radar, don’t apologize.” Aiden said, catching up with his finely suited friend and placed his hand on the door’s knob. “If we didn’t want you here, we would’ve said something.” 

Radar glanced at Aiden, who wore a reassuring smile, then to the group behind him. He caught glimpses of Cassie’s look of annoyance before Stella stepped in the way,  
“You asked for information and we provided. I believe that’s time well spent!” Stella chimed with certainty. Aiden nodded along to her statement.

“Time flies when you’re having a crisis.” Maya commented, her arms crossed as she leaned against the couch.

Radar nodded and took a deep breath. Aiden opened the door, letting in the crisp air that the early morning offered into their stuffy house. The sky was a calming light blue, not nearly as intense as it’d get in the early afternoon. Radar stepped a foot through the doorway and was about to bid the group farewell when Gill abruptly asked, “Will we see ya tomorrow?”

“Of course.” Radar adjusted his glasses, “I’ll be coming over at roughly 7:30.”

“Sounds good.” Aiden said as he watched Radar make his way outside, “Have a good one, Radar.”

“Good day.” Radar did a small bow and began his walk home.

Aiden closed the door and everyone stood still for a few moments listening to Radar’s steps get quieter and quieter till nothing but silence remained.

“Okay. Bed.” Aiden said. Everyone groaned.

Gill, Stella, and Cassie began making their way to their rooms, each with a book in one hand. They talked amongst themselves as Aiden watched them until they were no longer in his field of view. He wasn’t expecting them to fall asleep the second their faces touched a pillow, he was okay with them staying up an extra hour if they wanted to, or if they needed to read. 

Ever since Jesse had nearly destroyed Cavern City and escaped prison, no one’s been able to get a goodnight’s sleep. The group would split up and search every building, corner, alleyway, and even checked the nearby forests surrounding Obsidian Town. They’d search while the Sun was high in the sky all the way until it dipped into the east horizon. They’ve asked anybody and everybody if they’ve seen any sign of Jesse and got nothing. Though Aiden and his friends knew there were always liars amongst the crowd, you could never tell who was speaking the truth. 

The past several days have been rather… Stressful. And sleepless. Heck, maybe their sleep schedule’s been butchered long before Cavern city. When’s the last time any of them slept well?

They needed the energy for tomorrow. 

They couldn’t afford dozing off, getting distracted, nor getting grouchy all because they didn’t want to go to bed at an earlier time. Aiden knew he was guilty of acting in such a manner when he was sleep deprived.

“I’m gonna stay down here for a little.” Maya said to Aiden.  
She went over to a chest beside the bookshelf in the living room, took out a couple of swords, an axe, and took them over to the kitchen table.  
“Just gonna polish these. Maybe sharpen ‘em.”

She pulled open a drawer in the kitchen, grabbed a thick cloth--roughly the size of her hand--and sat back down. “I’ll go to bed soon. Try to read some as well.” 

Aiden nodded before going upstairs. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Radar walked through the barren streets of Obsidian Town, his oxford shoes making small tapping sounds with each step he took. He had started creating his schedule for tomorrow; helping Aiden and doing a tour all in one day would be no easy feat, but nothing a little planning and organization couldn’t fix.

Radar read what he had written down aloud, “At 5:30 I’ll wake up, I should be cleaned and dressed by 6:00… I’d have enough time to have a proper breakfast before meeting with Aiden...”  
His voice dwindled and he began tapping the pen against his chin, resisting the urge to chew on the end of it like he usually did. He couldn’t recall what Aiden, Stella, or anybody had planned for tomorrow. Was their next step even decided? 

He continued to stare intensely at the unfinished list, walking aimlessly as he thought to himself, ‘They did mention going to Petra’s… Her place is rather far from the town but if our time is used wisely, we should be left with enough time for the tour.’  
Radar had never been to Petra’s home before, he only knew it was a distance away when Petra told him herself while visiting a few months ago. If he recalled correctly, her house was in the northwest forest by the mountains. Shouldn’t be too long of a walk.

Hopefully they’d only be going to Petra’s tomorrow. He wouldn’t be able to save the tour for another day if Aiden and his friends decide to pile on more trips. Jesse and Olivia need to get home, after all.

Radar began clicking his pen at a steady pace, ‘Back to their universe…’  
Seeing the two of them was a shock; he was amazed to see a deceased friend back in tip-top shape. Maya, Stella, Cassie, Gill, and Aiden all spoke of how they felt dissociated with Olivia and--as bitter of a taste it left in his mouth--he had to agree. The Olivia he saw back at the house was more like a stranger who looked identical to their Olivia. Of course, seeing her and knowing she’s from another universe fascinated him nonetheless.

His encounter with Jesse? A near heart attack experience, to put it nicely.  
To see someone share the appearance with such a… Such a despicable man, while wearing a genuine, welcoming smile sat terribly with him. A part of his brain was shouting this was deception, yet no alarms went off. 

But he was still Jesse. Radar knew he wasn’t the Jesse he knew but he was still Jesse. Running into him like that… Running…  
Radar’s hands started becoming clammy.

‘Stop thinking about it.’ He told himself. He held his breath and gripped the clipboard tightly, hoping it wouldn’t slip from his grasp as he forced his mind to search for another subject. 

A question popped up: ‘What would the tour consist of?’

Radar’s eyes brightened and he unclenched his jaw. He took a moment to observe the area around him for a spark of inspiration, Obsidian Town was the home to many and contained a rich history of their world. St. Stephen’s Library would be a wonderful place to start off! On their way there, they could stop at some of the monuments scattered throughout the town and he could explain what they represented!  
His eyes drifted to the left where the town’s park entrance stood; a wide arch made of cool gray bricks which were cracked and moss covered. Perhaps he, Olivia, and Jesse could stroll through and he could answer whatever questions they had.

Nobody was at the park. He couldn’t remember the last time he had seen the place completely empty.

He looked around the rest of the town and realized he was the only one outside, though deep down inside, he knew he was never alone. Everyone else was closing their stores for the day, finishing their dinners, getting ready for bed… The world was a much different place under the Sun and it’s plain sky compared to the lively, colorful evenings.  
A bird flying by caught his attention, his eyes followed and watched the creature as it sat in its nest on top of the roof of one of the many stores, singing its song.  
Everyone was ready to sleep yet the rest of the world’s creatures seemed wide awake. 

‘You should be going home.’ A voice in his head said.

He should. He can plan the rest of the tour before bed, or--worst case--tomorrow. 

Regret filled his mind when he started walking as the thoughts of Jesse and his universe were starting to come back. It wasn’t the… ‘Good’ Jesse he was worried about, but his mind would go from that Jesse to theirs and he didn’t want to work himself up over nothing.

Radar forced his hand to write whatever gibberish came to him, his pen was getting coated with sweat. Why did he have to remind himself of Jesse?  
He kept walking. The world was becoming noisier. The pen would scrape the paper as he wrote nonsense, the light breeze which swayed the trees started sounding like a windstorm, the chirps of bugs and birds blared in his ears, even the tapping of his own shoes were getting distracting.

Radar tried to block out the noise but then he noticed… The tapping didn’t sync up with his steps.

Was he hearing things incorrectly?

He began walking faster. So did the tapping. It still didn’t sync.

Something was wrong.

Radar held his breath and gripped his clipboard.

He spun around and let out a cry, his heart nearly bursting out of his chest.

Jesse jumped as well, taken aback by Radar’s reaction.

“OH MY--” Radar held the board to his chest and shut his eyes tightly, “You scared me!”  
He took in mouthfuls of air, trying to settle his pounding heart down.  
And he thought the first encounter with Jesse was terrifying.

“One moment. One moment.” He told the brunet, whose eyes were wide with surprise. 

Jesse stood perfectly still, his hands held behind his back as if patiently waiting for Radar to collect himself.

Radar opened his eyes, pushed up his glasses, and took one more deep breath.  
“I apologize,” He started with a shaky voice, “I didn’t--I thought Aiden said… He said…” 

Radar found himself stumbling over his own words. He attempted to rephrase the sentence, but all he could manage to do was repeat “I… I-I…” over and over again.  
He was waiting to calm down again, for his heart to beat regularly, for his voice to return to it’s usual flatness. But it didn’t.

Something is wrong.

Beads of sweat formed on his face and his body began to tremble as if freezing.

As realization seeped into Radar, Jesse’s mouth curled. His smile got bigger and bigger as he peered into Radar’s fear-filled eyes.

“What did Aiden say about me?” Jesse asked in a curious tone with the mocking smile. He leaned forward while remaining in place, hands still behind back.

“N…” Radar struggled to speak, “Nothing--None of your concern!”

He should run. He needs to run. Aiden’s would be the safest. But Jesse’s right there. Right in front of him. Radar couldn’t take his eyes off of him. He can’t.

“Really?” Jesse clutched at his chest, “I’ve been gone for a whole week and Aiden hasn’t said anything about me?” He said in that sham of a sad tone Radar was all too familiar with.

Stop looking at him. Stop looking at him. Think straight. Do something. Look away. Do something.

Radar forced his head to the right, facing away from him, but he could still see the vibrant red straps of Jesse’s suspenders out of the corner of his eye, tempting him to look back.

Jesse brushed aside a long curl of hair in his face, “What were you doing at Aiden’s? Must’ve been important. Or maybe!” He recreated Radar’s pose; pretending to clutch a board and looked in another direction with a terrified expression, “It’s the only place you feel ‘safe’ in! The big, strong heroes will protect you from all the eyes!”

“I don’t--I--” Radar pushed past the ridicule, “How do you know I was with them? Were you watching us?” He tried to steady his voice.

Jesse’s faced him again, “Not this time.”  
Radar flinched and covered his face with the board on command.

Jesse stepped closer, Radar stepped back.

“I could hear your shrieky voice from across the town,” Jesse’s once mocking--though still expressive--tone had been dropped. “You could put it to use and tell me what you were doing.”

“If you… If you’re so interested,” Radar tried to gather as much courage as he could from his quivering body, “Why do--Why don’t you ask Aiden yourself?!” 

“Hm.” Jesse took a step back and thought to himself. “Not a bad idea.” He shrugged and spun around, slowly walking away.

Radar’s hands clutched onto the clipboard so tightly he was afraid it’d snap in two. He was surprised to see Jesse on board with the idea. When he’d get there, Maya, Aiden, Gill, Stella, Cassie Rose, they could all deal with him. Yes, yes. They wouldn’t have to stress over finding Jesse if he was right in front of them! Perfect! Brilliant! No one would get hurt. No one. Not his friends, not him, not… Olivia and Jesse. 

The other Jesse and Oliva. 

Their Jesse couldn’t see them. 

No, no, no. If he saw either one of them--No, no, he couldn’t let that happen. And it’d be Radar’s fault. His fault. Maya. Aiden. Cassie--they would get hurt or taken or killed, this town would be destroyed and it’d all be his fault. His fault, his fault, his fault--

Jesse’s distanting steps were nearly drowned out by Radar’s pounding heart. He bursted into a panic-fueled sprint.

“NO--!” He reached for the man’s arm to stop him, but Jesse whipped back around and grabbed Radar’s wrist with a crushing grip. Radar recoiled from the pain and immediately attempted to wriggle his way out of the grasp of Jesse’s… Disgusting hand… The filth on his hands traveled up his once clean white sleeves which were decorated with strange, washed out, brown stains. Some reached the shirt itself.

“Stop dragging this out, quitter.” Anger was becoming more and more detectable in Jesse’s voice. Radar squeezed his eyes shut. He could feel tears forming. He didn’t want to cry. He didn’t want to cry. Not now. Don’t let Jesse see. Things will only get worse. Hold it in. Jesse will get upset and leave. He should.

“If you…” Radar was caught off guard by how brittle his voice was but he trudged on, “If your plan is to c… Call me n-names and invade my personal s… Space…” He swallowed, “Th-then you’re in for a disappointment.”

Jesse was about to speak but stopped to eye Radar, whose eyes were welling with tears and mouth stuck open, struggling to say another word. He could feel Radar’s arm shaking intensely in his hand. His eyes trailed down to the clipboard, where he saw snippets of words. A small smile appeared.

Without warning, Jesse snatched the board out of Radar’s hand. Radar gasped and shot his other arm towards it only for Jesse to crush his wrist harder.

Radar needed that. He needed that. Jesse couldn’t take it--couldn’t let him see it.

“Last chance.” 

“You…” Radar stuttered as he glared at Jesse, “You don’t scare me.”  
Radar’s words were met with a painful punch in the gut, knocking the air out of him. He let go of Radar’s wrist and watched him stumble back.

“Not what I wanted to hear.” Jesse said as Radar gasped for air, hunched over and clutching his stomach. Jesse threw the clipboard to the ground and walked towards Radar as he gripped the fabric of his pants tightly.

Radar saw tears stream down his face and hit the ground. He kept staring at the ground. He didn’t want to look up. He didn’t. He wiped away the tears with his sleeve and tried to control his breathing with no luck.

“Are you crying?” Jesse’s face scrunched.

He came closer, “You’re making this a much bigger deal than it needs to be. You have no reason to cry!” His voice was rising.

Radar didn’t respond. He couldn’t.

Jesse dug at his legs then grabbed both of Radar’s arms, yanking him forward so they were face to face. He stared at the teary eyed mess whose body trembled terribly.

“You used to talk so much.” Jesse said calmly with a look of concern he struggled to maintain. “What happened?” Looking at Radar’s face started to boil an intense bitterness within him. He was the weakest person Jesse knew yet he was making everything difficult. This shouldn’t have gone on for so long. He should be with the others already. But he wasn’t. 

And that fact alone angered him.

He didn’t give Radar the chance to stop crying--let alone respond. His dirtied fingers dug into his arms more and more with each sob let out. Jesse was sick of them. Sick of the cries. He threw Radar’s body down, sat on his legs and lifted up the top half of his body by the shoulders.

“Can’t you do anything besides crying and running away?!” He shouted, shaking the mess that was Radar violently.

Radar tried to say something back but it was all incoherent. He shook his head intensely.

Jesse couldn’t take this. He couldn’t. How incompetent can a person be? How useless can someone be? Wasted his time. His damn time. And for what? Listening to a quitter’s cries and staring at its pitiful face?

“Come on then! Do something!” He grabbed Radar’s head, nails jabbing into his face, and bashed it into the cold, concrete road.

Radar heard a cracking sound--praying it was his glasses--followed by a flash of colors. The colors came and went, everything became blurry and right before he regained his vision, Jesse slammed him into the ground again.

The pain wasn’t instant. For the first several seconds, he didn’t feel anything, and what a blissful several seconds they were. The pain started out small and more of an annoyance before it flared up, took over his head, and made its way down his spine. 

‘Is he trying to knock me out?’ Radar thought hazily. His head was pounding. Half of it felt like it had been set on fire. Jesse held Radar by his hair and shouted at him. He couldn’t make out whatever he was saying. His glasses had fallen off. Radar could vaguely make out Jesse’s bloodshot eyes.

‘He’s going to kill me.’

Jesse would never.

‘He’s going to kill me.’ 

Maybe he wasn’t.

‘He’s going to kill me.’ 

Those were the only words booming in Radar’s head. Don’t take any chances. Do something. Anything. 

Radar felt his head being lifted up again.

‘Scream.’

The instant his head made contact with the ground he screamed at the top of his lungs. He hated screaming. He hated it as much as crying. But he screamed. He thought his voice box would explode, that his tonsils would fly out and his lungs would shrivel.

Jesse’s body jolted and he froze.

Radar kept screaming.

Jesse shook off the surprise and immediately locked his hands around Radar’s throat,  
“Shut up. Shut up.” He ordered through gritted teeth.

The screaming was replaced by gurgled attempts at gasping. Radar grabbed Jesse’s arm with his shaking hand, trying to get him off, but Radar couldn’t muster enough force. He could only hold onto the arm with a barely detectable grip as tears began mixing with his saliva. 

Jesse heard a door open in the distance with voices accompanying it. Someone was coming. Even if they weren’t heading to them specifically, he wasn’t going to risk being seen.

Jesse dropped Radar and said something indecipherable before he ran off, leaving a pitiful Radar to lay on the empty streets of the town.

Radar was motionless. His hair was sprawled everywhere similarly to his body. He so desperately wanted to get up or find his glasses, but the thought of moving made his head pound harder. 

The tears had slowed.

He heard footsteps approaching. He couldn’t see, but maybe that was a good thing. It’d save him further humiliation.

Radar laid still. He should stay here. Here is safe. Jesse’s gone. He’s safe. Here is safe. Only here.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Maya stared at all the weapons she had polished and sharpened. She wasn’t originally going to sharpen them, but she found herself restless and had hoped this would tire her out. When she found herself still wide awake, she decided to spiffy up her friends’ weapons, she even made Stella an extra set of arrows to pass the time.  
Maya wished she could’ve done something with Cassie’s axes, but Cassie always carried them around with her and insisted she could take care of them herself.

At the end of the line of weapons was the book she had picked from earlier. The book was a really pale red with a title whose words were nearly scratched off. Aiden had asked them to read; she could’ve spent her spare time doing so. She’s known Aiden long enough, he wouldn’t get upset over her not reading, but she’d feel a little bad if she didn’t do so much as peek inside of it.

Maya sighed, pushed herself out of the chair and was about to grab the book… But then she heard a sound. It was faint but noticeable. It sounded human. She listened to the sound for a moment longer until her heart came to a screeching halt and her body became cold.

‘Radar.’

She threw the door open and ran. Her shoes hit the ground and burned her feet as she ran faster and faster.

Anything in her path--people, signs, stands--was avoided on command. The layout of this town was ingrained into her brain, she didn’t need directions. Her legs would take sharp turns with only one goal in mind: Find Radar.

He couldn’t have gone too fair if she was able to hear his scream.

Maya took another right turn and saw multiple people standing and staring at a shaking figure on the floor, several feet from the park entrance. An older woman looked like she was trying to talk to it.

The first thing to grab Maya’s attention was the figure’s green suit. Her eyes widened. When she got close enough, she slid on her knees and yielded before the quivering figure which was Radar.

“What happened?” She asked as she grabbed Radar’s glasses and clipboard, her voice remained its gruffness but worry could be heard.

Radar carefully lifted his hand and placed it over his chest, his breaths started out slow and unsteady but soon sped up.

“Je--” Radar hiccuped, “Jes… Je… He- He wa… Jess--” Tears welled up and gushed down his face.

He couldn’t finish a single sentence. He didn’t need to. Maya heard enough. Her mouth hung open for a moment before rage filled her; she clenched her jaw and grinded her teeth. Jesse was out there. He was here. He could be close. Maybe she could run after him and knock him cold.

Radar’s stifled sobs washed away the red she saw, and brought her mind back to what was important.

“Radar, I need you to take deep breaths.” She said.

He shook his head recklessly, “I c… I can… ca… Can’t…” 

Maya started biting the inside of her cheek. She needed to bring him back home, but he was in awful condition. There’s no way he could walk, let alone stand.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Olivia and Jesse rushed downstairs. When they reached the bottom they saw Stella and Aiden standing by the open door, talking.

“What happened?” Jesse asked.

Jesse had no idea how long he had been asleep. He was surprised to have even slept at all. One second the world was dark and restless, the next second a loud sound had awoken the both of them and the sun was shining. 

Aiden turned towards them, “Maya ran out. I’m gonna look for her. You guys stay here and--”

Stella shook Aiden’s arm and directed his attention to the outside. 

Maya came running in carrying Radar, his arms dangled and his face was stained with dirt and tear streaks. Jesse only caught a glimpse of the state Radar was in, but it was all he needed to see. He couldn’t believe that sobbing man was the same person they saw hours ago. 

Jesse was about to ask a question but Maya ran up the stairs, shoving past him and Olivia with little acknowledgement, and went down the hallway before running into her room slamming the door behind her.

Jesse ran after her--with Olivia behind--and pressed his face against the door. He could hear Radar sobbing and Maya saying something to him, but her words were muffled.

He knocked, “Is everything alright?”  
He began opening the door only for Maya to stop it with her foot. The door was cracked open enough for Maya’s face to peek through.

“Don’t worry about it.” She said coldly.

“Wh--” Jesse sputtered, “But Radar’s hurt and I wanna--”

“I know you mean well,” Maya’s voice softened, “but you’d make things worse if he saw you.”

Jesse didn’t know how to respond. He couldn’t argue with Maya, she probably knew him better than he did, but seeing Radar in such a state--even if it wasn’t the Radar he knew--without knowing what had happened was going to haunt him. 

Olivia heard the rushing footsteps of Stella and Aiden nearing and signaled Jesse to step back.

They both pressed themselves against the walls of the cramped hallway as Aiden and Stella skid to a stop at Maya’s door.

“Maya, what happened?” Aiden asked, looking through the crack.

“Jesse.” She answered in a whisper.

Everyone froze. Jesse’s entire body stiffened and his pupils shrunk. 

He instantly zipped his head to Stella and Aiden, who were already looking at him, “I didn’t--This wasn’t me! I was asleep this whole time! I swear I would NEVER do this--”

He didn’t give either of them a chance to speak, but based on Stella’s look of absolute revulsion, he already had an idea on what they were thinking.

“It’s true!” Olivia confirmed, “He never left the bed! He only woke up when Maya ran out!”

Stella put her hands on her hips and opened her mouth, ready to go off on Jesse when--

“They’re telling the truth.” Maya said. 

She shifted her head to the two of them, “I was downstairs the whole time. I didn’t see or hear any signs of Jesse breaking out. This was our Jesse.”

Maya closed the door and locked it.

No one said anything for a minute.

Stella turned to Aiden, the two were frantically discussing what must’ve happened and what to do next. Jesse struggled to swallow; his mouth was dry. He held his hands together tightly and took deep, steady breaths to calm himself down; Olivia saw the fear in his eyes. 

Olivia carefully placed her hand on his shoulder, “What should we do?” 

Aiden and Stella faced her with equally distraught expressions.

“We should--” Aiden paused. “We need to go back to bed. When everyone’s up we’ll tell them what happened. We can’t do this now. Not now.”

Olivia wanted to argue that it was morning, they should be figuring this situation out now. However, the desperation in Aiden’s voice told her to listen to him. She didn’t want to, but maybe it was for the best.

Olivia shook Jesse lightly, “You heard him, Jesse?” 

“Mhm.” His response was rigid and barely audible.

Olivia began walking back to the guest room, dragging Jesse behind. They probably wouldn’t be able to sleep again, but they could use the time to think about what’s happened. Maybe Jesse needed the time to collect his thoughts on this situation.  
When they entered their room neither of them said a word to each other, but shared the same question: How horrible is the other Jesse?


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lotta words!! Hope you guys will like this one!! ;o;b

_Today was the big day! _

_The day everyone had been anticipating for months! Weeks upon weeks of preparation, everybody doing their part, sharing the workload of the decoration, careful planning to make sure everyone could attend, countless nights of reading and rereading the plans for how the day would play out, and now it’s finally arrived! _

_Everyone was excited, but no one could compete with the exhilaration Radar had!_

_Radar viewed the sea of people he stood before, making out familiar faces as they all chattered to one another. He remembered being so fearful of crowds, now he feels nothing but enthusiasm. The people were seated in the beautifully embellished nave. Bold, red flowers with their mesmerizing petals were used to make wreaths which hung on the stone walls, along with banners of the same vibrancy as the flowers that hung from the ceiling. _

_Radar stood proudly on the stage with two others by each side. He had put hours into his appearance, making sure his red suit--a shade he’d always compare to a ruby--was wrinkle free, that his dark yellow tie could be put on without hassle, his black shoes shone, and being extra determined to keep his hair combed back and slick. His hair would always stick up, it was nearly impossible to control, but it seemed merciful for this special day._

_He looked at the people next to him, he was placed in between two individuals who he was well acquainted with. On his left was a woman about his age, freckles scattered on her pale face, and long, red hair that stopped midway at her back. Unlike Radar, she was not wearing formal attire of any sort, instead, she had a clean, white towel wrapped around her body which she held together tightly.  
Radar could’ve gone unclothed as well, but when he was shown the optional attire, he knew he had to wear it for such an event. He was warned his suit would get ruined today, and to not fret about his appearance, but he wanted to look wonderful regardless._

_The man to the right of him was older--though by how many years was unknown--and had been here far longer than Radar. He was extremely pale, which could’ve been because he was nervous, his hair was somewhat frizzy and a light blond. He also wore a suit, it was a dusty brown instead of Radar’s red. _

_‘Of course his suit is different,’ Radar thought to himself, ‘He is being honored for a different reason.’ _

_Besides them, there was nothing too much on the stage except for a sturdy, spruce chair. However, more people would be stepping on soon._

_“Everyone!” Brenner, one of their three leaders spoke as the other two stood aside, “I’d like to thank you all for joining us on this very special day…”_

_Brenner was no ordinary man. He was a man whose loud, confidence-filled voice would immediately steal your attention, his judgements were law and he’d speak only the truth.  
His red robe, sleeves and its end decorated with gold-colored engravings, was loose around his body yet everyone knew it was perfect for him. His white eyes stood from his black skin and he wore his bold red and pink burn marks with pride. He was blind, but he had no need to see._

_There was no flaw in this man. _

_Brenner continued his speech and Radar wanted to listen, yet he found his attention going elsewhere. On each end of the dark wooden stage were two big, white ceramic pots with shiny blue paint splattered on the tops. Large fires had been set in each pot, and had flowers carefully surrounding each flame, delicately placed to prevent them from being set ablaze. _

_‘Red dahlias,’ Radar remembered, ‘They’re wonderful.’ _

_Radar, among a few others, had helped Brenner dig up a bundle of these gorgeous flowers. It was that very day when Brenner spoke to him._

_“Radar,” Brenner had said, “Your journey, your progression… You are a vastly different man compared to the one I first met nearly a year ago.”  
He placed his hand on his shoulder and gifted Radar with a smile, something he hardly ever did, “The next generation of The Awakening has been gifted to receive a future Vision as you, Radar.” _

_A Vision. Radar. He never thought hearing those three words together was possible. He had only been in The Awakening just shy of a year, compared to the tens of hundreds of other people who had been here--some for over a decade--he thought he still had years to go. But the leaders told him his growth and his leadership skills outshined many others. They told him they needed him. _

_Who could refuse an honor like that?_

_A Vision. What a powerful word. What a title. _

_Radar turned back to the center of the stage. The woman had sat down on the chair, clutching her towel tightly. She was sobbing. Two of the leaders surrounded her as she told her tragic story, how she had lost everything until The Awakening had helped her. Hearing her story and seeing the crowd’s tearful, sympathetic faces as they nodded along to her words brought a weird happiness to Radar. This was a community. A safe place. A home.  
The third leader, an older man with a similar attire to Brenner, carefully made his way onto the stage, carrying a deep dish specially made to carry whatever substance was in it. It must’ve been a darker red, but it’s coating began to chip away from years of usage. The old man wore thick gloves. _

_Once her story had finished, everyone cheered. _

_Brenner stood behind her and placed his hands where her collar bone was, carefully massaging it to help her relax as he continued his speech._

_“Your years of hardships and development are soon to be rewarded. Are you ready to be gifted with The Vision’s gift?”_

_“I am.” She answered, wiping away her remaining tears._

_“Do you love the people you will soon shine for, our history, and wish to make the future brighter for our remaining days on this Earth?”_

_“I do.”_

_“Are you ready to become the next, brilliant flame for future generations?”_

_“I am.”_

_She glanced up at Brenner, who gave her a small but warming smile, before taking a deep breath. She tilted her head back as far as she could, Brenner held her hair. _

_The old man approached and the substance began to trickle down before becoming a slow, steady pour._

_The liquid was heavier, as it fell onto her face instead of drizzling down smoothly like Radar expected it to. It also had a brilliant glow to it and lit up a portion of the stage; the light made the steam from the substance visible._

_A strange smell soon came. Radar couldn’t perfectly describe the smell, an odd clash of sweetness and naustiation, it was becoming stronger by the second. He could practically taste the scent. _

_He stared at the woman as the liquid kept coming, her skin was becoming red and slowly falling off her face and onto the floor, sizzling. Odd bubbles began to form and Radar swore he saw what used to be her eye melting and mixing along with the liquid._

_Lava. _

_What are they doing?_

_Radar looked back at the crowd, who still had the happiness from before, and felt his stomach begin to knot up._

_Do they see nothing wrong with this?_

_Why aren’t they doing anything? _

_What are they doing? _

_What are they doing? _

_What is he doing?_

_He stopped breathing. The stench had become overwhelming, he was afraid he’d choke. This isn’t right. This can’t be right._

_This can’t be right._

_“Radar?” He heard Brenner say, a firm grip on Radar’s shoulder, “Are you alright?”_

_Radar couldn’t tell if he was shaking his head or if his whole body was trembling tremendously, but seeing Brenner’s concerned--almost worried--expression means he must’ve looked awful._

_Radar kept shaking, he shook his head violently to make himself clear as he stepped away._

_He kept stepping back and back and back until his body bursted into a full sprint. He held his breath and ran faster than he ever had in his entire life. He ran through the hallway of the shrine until he saw the exit, never looking back. He heard shouts and screams, hollers, voices pleading for him to come back, people calling him ‘quitter’, but he refused to listen._

_The moment his foot passed the exit, Radar finally took in a lungful of fresh air and expected to see the lushious field of grass and flowers he was so used to seeing, but there was nothing to greet him._

_He stood in nothing. No signs of life. No buildings. Only nothing._

_Was he dead?_

_“Radar.” He heard Brenner’s voice again. The melancholy wrapped around it sunk into Radar’s mind. _

_He had done wrong. _

_Something terribly wrong. _

_Radar tried to keep moving, he found very little energy to run, but he tried to walk. He may as well have been moving with cinder blocks chained to his legs, his feet dragging against the unloving void as he begged his body to move faster._

_“You’re so much better than this.”_

_A hand crept up and held Radar’s hand. He tried to pull away but more locked his arm in place. He couldn’t see the hands, the arms, where they were coming from, but he could feel them. Their tight, unforgiving fingers gripped his clothes, tearing them off and stabbing his skin. More came and wrapped themselves around his bare body, some around his chest and stomach, almost as if hugging him. He wanted to throw up. This was wrong. This was wrong._

_He felt fingers caress his face and remove his glasses before forcing his head up and his eyes wide open. Radar could see the dish looming over him crystal clearly. Radar couldn’t move his head, he tried rolling his eyes to the back of his head yet he could still make out the disgusting clumps of lava falling to his face._

_“The next generation of The Awakening has been gifted to receive a future Vision as you, Radar.”_

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Maya awoke to Radar’s screaming followed by a stingful slap in the face. She almost didn’t recognize her own room because of how unfocused her vision was. Maya felt the headboard of her bed against her stiff, aching back. Why was she sitting on her bed? Did she fall asleep sitting up? She squeezed her eyes and shook her head, wondering why she received a wake up call like that. 

“I’m blind! I’m blind--!” She heard Radar’s high voice cry. 

Maya shot her eyes down and jumped. On top of her blue blanket, arms flailing and legs kicking, was Radar with tears streaming down his face. Rays of the sun shot through her windows and into Radar’s eyes. 

The aches have been completely forgotten as Maya jumped off her bed, and ran towards the windows as Radar continued to shout about how he couldn’t see. How he was blinded. The way he covered his face with his hands and wailed with his body thrashing about, you’d almost believe someone had tore his eyes out.  
Maya hurriedly yanked the curtains over the windows--the thick, blue sheets immediately blocking all light--and she rushed over to her nightstand to grab Radar’s glasses; she had to tape one of the hinges back together after he had fallen asleep.

“No you’re not. No you’re not. No you’re not. ” She said in a quick breath, fumbling with the glasses, trying to open them without accidentally snapping the hinge off.

She held the glasses carefully, trying to figure out how calm Radar down so he could put them back on. His hands dug into his face, he continued to sob. She couldn’t possibly put them on at the moment.

“Hey,” She said loud enough through the man’s sobs. His hands remained firmly on his face but his body settled down when hearing Maya’s voice.

Radar opened his mouth, wanting to talk, but he could hardly get the first letter out. His breathing was loud and unsteady, and his body shook.

Maya carefully reached out, “Can I see your hand?” 

She couldn’t tell if he was nodding, but he extended his hand out, searching for her’s.

She made sure to grasp gently as their fingers locked. He was ice cold.

Radar had covered his eyes with his arm. Maya stared at him and slowly breathed in.

“What’s your name?” She asked carefully.

He didn’t respond right away, he took a moment to process the question as his teeth chattered.

“R… Radar.” He answered with an unsteady voice.

Maya nodded and held his hand a little tighter, “Do you know where you are?”

Radar slowly began to uncover his face. His eyes peeked out and he scanned the room. Everything was blurry and dark, but the layout felt familiar to him.

“A h… A house?” 

Maya brought the glasses to his face, trying her best to slip them on with one hand. She didn’t want to poke his eyes. Radar helped push the glasses into place.

He wiped away the remaining tears, used his arms to hoist himself up, and looked around the room again.

“Aiden’s home.” He corrected himself.

He heard Maya’s ‘Mhm’ as he continued to observe the room. It was clean. It was barren. There was only an oak nightstand with an old, red alarm clock. Two chests were in between the two windows across the bed, a sword laid on top of one of the chests. Then there was the dresser pushed against the wall to the right side of the room, it was the only thing to be considered ‘messy’. One of its drawers was open, exposing the neatly folded clothes, and on top of the dresser laid two more swords, a pickaxe, and bandage wraps.  
He recalled a second bed used to be here, but Aiden had moved it to the guest room.  
‘This is Maya’s room.’ Radar remembered. 

He was beginning to relax when he heard Maya ask “And The Awakening?”

Radar froze up again, adrenaline rushed through him, his brain begged him to escape, yet he remained still. Flashes of the dream--memories--quickly came and went. He turned his head stiffly to Maya, his shrunken pupils locked onto her face. She looked worried. Was that his fault?

Radar gripped her hand tightly and started with a shaky voice, “The… They…”

He swallowed, “They can’t get here.”

“Right.” Maya nodded, her brows creased, “Because we’d do everything we can to stop them. You’re safe.”

“I’m safe.” Radar repeated. He fell back onto the bed. He was finally able to regain control over his breathing as he took slow, deep breaths.

The two remained in the bed--hands still holding--for several minutes. Maya wanted to give Radar some time to take it easy after such a rough day, but a part of her wanted to converse with him. Maybe he needed someone to talk to. But what could she say? She could never start conversations. She never knew how to.

Maya stared at the wall across her bed for a minute, clenching her jaw

“Bad dream?” She finally asked.

Radar nodded, rubbing his eyes.

“You wanna talk about it? You don’t have to.” She said in her gruff voice. Maya never hated how she sounded, but there were times she wished she could sound a bit more… Emotional? Softer? Her words always sounded far colder than she intended them to.

“I’d love to forget it.” Radar said weakly, squirming in bed trying to get comfortable. He laid on his side, staring at the room’s door, trying to concentrate on anything that wasn’t his dream or what had happened yesterday.

“We were supposed to go to Petra’s today,” He took a deep breath, “Am I holding you back?”

Maya shook her head, “No. Everyone else will be heading to her place, I’m staying here with you.”

She saw Radar’s head sink into the pillow, visibly disappointed. She pressed her lips together.

“You wouldn’t like it there.” She said.

“Oh?”

“Petra’s place. It’s…” She thought about her next words carefully, “Sorta creepy.”

Radar could only respond with a weak nod. He turned on his other side so he could face Maya again. Everything was beginning to slow down. His blinking, his breathing, his heart beat.

“Did I hurt you?” Radar avoided looking at her face. He forced his eyes to stare at his free hand.

“It was an accident.” She acknowledged, “Don’t worry about it.”

He mumbled a barely audible apology and dug his face deeper into the pillow. He kept staring at his hand. It was shaking. He was still shaking.

He inhaled sharply tore away from Maya’s hand and tightly gripped his wrist, determined to cease his trembling. The more he kept staring the more frustrated he got. This is pathetic. This is pathetic. This is pathetic. Why is this still happening?

“How can I be expected to do anything properly if I can’t even stop my own hand from shaking!” He grinded his teeth and kept crushing his wrist.

Maya was about to stop him when Radar suddenly sat up, threw both hands onto his head, and dug into his hair. 

“I promised--I promised Olivia and--and him a tour of the town.”  
There’s no way he’d be able to do it today nor tomorrow. Maybe not even for the rest of the week. He’s not sure how well he’d handle being on the empty streets of Obsidian Town... In the middle of the day… Seeing him… Hearing his voice… Being close to him.  
Olivia would be there, but would she make any difference? 

“They’re good people. They’ll understand.” Maya assured him.  
She placed her hand on his shoulder, “It’s okay you can’t do it. Doesn’t make you a failure.”

“I know.” Radar’s hands steadily slipped off his head as he rested against the headboard of the bed. 

He felt his body leaning closer and closer to Maya till he found his head resting on her shoulder.

“Maya?”

“Hm?” 

“I want to… Wanted to thank you for all that you did last night.” Radar felt his eyelids getting heavy.

“Yeah,” Maya glanced at him, “Yeah, don’t mention it.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jesse cracked his eyes open ever so slightly and was met with an intense brightness. The window’s blinds were wide open, allowing sunlight to spew in and take over his bedroom. Jesse squeezed his eyes shut and shifted around in the bed, his head was pounding, he wanted a few extra minutes of sleep. Just a few. But he was finding the task rather difficult. Was his bed always this uncomfortable? Hard? How did he manage to fall asleep in the first place?

‘This isn’t your bed.’ A thought echoed in his head. 

His eyes shot open. Oh no. It wasn’t a fever dream.

Jesse instantly sat up and scanned the room, ‘Guest room.’ He reminded himself. Where was Olivia? The place was rather empty, if she was in here, he would’ve spotted her already. Is she okay? Did something happen last night?

Jesse threw the covers off, slipped on his shoes beside the bed, and tried to recall what happened.

“Okay, you found out you’re in a different world--in a different universe, filled with different-familiar people, what else? What else?” Talking outloud tends to help refresh his memory, “Radar got attacked by Other Jesse--oh, I hope he’s okay!”  
Jesse ran to the door, swung it open and… Was greeted with a surprised Stella.

“Oh, you’re up!” Stella’s fist was raised, she must’ve been a moment away from knocking. She was wearing a soft, striped, lavender-colored, short sleeved pajama top with a pair of dark purple flannel pants. She also wore fuzzy slippers that were the same shade as her shirt. 

Jesse stopped in his tracks and dug his fingers into the doorway, bouncing his leg rapidly. He needed to know if his friend was safe, or--at the very least--still in this house.  
“Yep, woke up a second ago. Have you seen Olivia?” 

Stella blinked, “Yes, she asked if she could read in the living room.”

Jesse’s body loosened, his hands melted off the door’s frame as he sighed with relief. He peeked back at Stella, who looked like she wanted to say something.  
“What about you? Why are you up so early?” Jesse had no idea what time it was. He knew the sun was out, so he assumed it was morning. 

“I… Couldn’t sleep.” She clasped her hands together, “Jesse I--I owe you an apology.”

Jesse tilted his head, last night was overwhelming. So many moments merged together into one, chaotic nightmare.

Stella breathed in, “The way I treated you last night, I think it’s fair to say I wasn’t the nicest. I genuinely thought you were our Jesse, I’m very sorry.”

“Oh, hey!” Jesse leaned against the door, “After what happened to Radar, I totally understand. Better safe than sorry.” 

“But still,” Stella tucked her hair behind her ear, “You didn’t deserve to be treated like that.”

“It’s all good.” Jesse assured her with a smile. Stella smiled back.

She stretched her arms high, “Well, there’s a few more hours of the day left, I’m going to try to get as much sleep as I can. You and Olivia should too.” 

Stella waved and began walking off, leaving Jesse to think to himself. He wasn’t too tired, he wouldn’t be able to sleep again. Sleep. Sleep? What time is it? Wait a minute--

“Hold on, Stella!” Jesse whisper-shouted to her before she went any further. She spun around, strands of hair flying into her face.

“When do--What time do you usually go to bed?”

Stella answered, “10:30 sharp. I go to bed the earliest out of everyone else.”

Jesse inhaled, “... AM or PM?”

“... AM?” She replied, raising a brow.

‘Oh no.’ Jesse thought to himself as he held his breath.

“What time do you wake up?” 

“8 PM--Why are you asking me this?” Stella asked.

‘Oh no. There’s a time difference.’ A major one at that. 

He glanced back up at the confused woman and finally exhaled, “You see, in our universe, we fall asleep when it’s dark out. Polar opposite to your’s.”

Stella stared for a moment longer before her eyes widened. She let her mouth hang as she tried to figure out how to approach the situation.

“Oh dear, that possibility didn’t even come to mind! Are you two going to be okay? Aiden will probably be waking us up at 6--6 PM--you’re going to be waiting for a while.”

“Don’t worry,” He waved his hand, “We’ll find a way to kill time.”

Stella tapped her foot, thinking of what him and Olivia could do for the next several hours. She wanted to suggest they rest so they wouldn’t tire out too soon during their trip to Petra’s, but if they’re used to being up at this time, it’ll certainly be difficult for them. Plus they’d have to tire themselves out to want to rest.

“Alright,” Stella started, “There are plenty of books downstairs for you to read, if you get hungry, help yourself to whatever. If you see a container of butter cookies, don’t eat those, those are Cassie’s…”

Jesse nodded along to Stella’s list.

“And don’t--!” She raised her worried voice but immediately stopped herself. She continued on in a whisper, “Don’t go outside. At all.”

“I won’t! Pinky promise.” Jesse held his pinky up high.

“ ‘Pinky promise’ ?” Stella repeated with a laugh, “That’s adorable. I need to go back to bed, I’m trusting the two of you to be safe.”  
She began walking back to her room, her fuzzy slippers making flip-flop sounds with each step she took.

“Alright, goodn--Sleep well!” Jesse corrected himself.  
He made his way to the stairs, could he say ‘Goodnight’? Or did he have to say ‘Good morning’ instead? ‘Good day’? Do phrases change with such a major time difference? He could only assume so.

Jesse would carefully place one foot on each step, trying to be as quiet as he could to not wake anyone, but the pressure he’d put on the stair would release one loud groan after another, making him cringe. Everything he did always seemed louder whenever he was trying to be quiet. Maybe it was his brain being overdramatic or maybe he was plain bad at being quiet.

He tried to take another step, carefully pressing down onto the wooden planks, but an exceptionally loud creak pierced his ears and stopped him in his tracks. He gritted his teeth. How hard was it to walk silently down steps?

“Is someone there?” He heard a familiar voice ask. Jesse perked up and leaped down the remaining stairs, completely forgetting the concept of ‘quiet’, slipping off the last step, and nearly breaking his legs.  
He gripped onto the railings and caught himself before he could land on the floor face first.

“Oh my gosh!” Olivia leapt off the couch and hurried towards the moron, “Are you okay?!” 

“Uh-huh, uh-huh.” He repeated, his heart racing with the surprise adrenaline rush. Olivia grabbed Jesse’s hand and hoisted him back to his feet.

“Do you know how much easier it would’ve been to just say ‘It’s me, Jesse’, instead of throwing yourself off a flight of stairs?” Olivia asked.

Jesse brushed himself off, “Sorry, sorry, I got excited. I woke up, you were missing, I was gonna find you but Stella stopped me--already a real wild morning.”

“Afternoon.” Olivia corrected.

“Hm?”

“It’s 1 PM, Jesse.”

“What?!” Jesse sputtered. Had he really been asleep for that long? 

Olivia went back to the green couch and picked up a small book--the one she got from the library--laying on one of the cushions, “After we were told to go back to the guest room, you sat on the bed for a while. You were… Pretty quiet. You looked shaken up, so I wanted to give you space.”

She began flipping through the book, trying to find her place, “I read for a bit, then when I turned back around, you were asleep again. I was going to stay in bed and keep reading, but you kept moving around and taking up a lot of space.”  
Olivia chuckled at the recollection.

‘Oh jeez, do I really do that?’ He had always slept alone, never shared a bed before. He hoped he wasn’t too much of a nuisance to her at night.

“Don’t worry about sleeping in though,” Olivia spoke up, she scooched to the side of the couch and patted the cushion beside her, inviting Jesse over, “you needed the rest.” 

As Jesse walked over, Olivia looked around the living room.

“Nobody else seems to be up besides Stella.” 

“Oh, speaking of which--” Jesse plopped down, his body bounced from the cushion, “There might be an itty bitty, teeny tiny little time difference. These guys apparently sleep in the morning and most of the afternoon.”

Olivia clicked her tongue, “I thought so.”  
She had her suspicions earlier today when Aiden had told them to go back to bed, along with everyone’s odd amount of energy from last night. Having her speculations confirmed, she felt more at ease and wanted to use the time they had to continue reading her book and--hopefully--get more comfortable in their temporary world.

Jesse was watching Olivia hunt down the page she had stopped at--visibly annoyed--and decided to ask her on what she’s read so far. Olivia’s face brightened as she began describing what she'd learned.

She started with the story of a man who had done it all, someone who had defeated monsters of all kinds, traveled thousands of miles across a variety of biomes meeting new companions along the way, taking on beasts in the Nether--and other dimensions--and inspiring many people. He was referred to as “The Impossible Man”. The next two sections were shorter, the first discussing the rising creation of shrines made for gatherings and offerings, each shrine having their own unique origin story.

The second section was the vaguest of the bunch, briefly talking about a period of time where everyone believed the world was falling apart, horrid quakes would tear the floor open, storms would come and flood towns, and while there weren’t too many details, it seemed to be the darkest time of this world. Finally, there was the chapter she was currently reading: Tearing down the Nether. Years and years ago, hundreds of people began creating their own portals to the Nether in an attempt to find something. Trying to find Obsidian was risky enough, but people would go to the extremes when trying to find iron, flint, or obsidian to the point where people were killing each other over it. Portals would deteriorate and destroy anything surrounding them because of how poorly constructed they were.

Olivia scrunched her nose and flipped through a few pages as she continued talking, “That’s the most I’ve read. I’m struggling to piece certain parts together because someone took their time carefully removing specific pages. Who does that?”  
The missing pages did explain why the book was on the thinner side.

“Can I take a peek?” Jesse asked, holding his hand out. Olivia passed him the dark blue book.

He began flipping through and, sure enough, pages were missing. Some sections were only missing a few, while others had tens of them gone. Whoever took these pages out did so with precision, the only evidence of the pages ever existing were the small, barely noticeable torn paper in the gutter of the book.

“Hm.” He handed it back, “Maybe someone’s trying to hide something. We might have to wait for everyone else to wake up so we can ask.” 

Jesse slumped over the couch’s armrest and let his arms dangle as his hair hung in his face. They’ll have to wait five hours for anyone to wake up, and hope Aiden and the others were energized enough to want to explain. Five hours. Five long, agonizing hours in this house with windows taunting the outside world to him.

Jesse blew the hair out of his face and turned his head to the right. His eyes fell onto the wall across the couch, specifically the large portion of the wall with thick, long, oak shelves covering most of the area. The shelves carried a variety of items, from a worn down, iron helmet, pickaxes dangerously close to edges, carefully rolled maps and… Books!

Jesse’s face lit up and he lifted himself off the couch, “Hey, tell you what!”  
He walked over to the shelves, “I’ll take a peek at some of these suckers,” he took out a random book, “and maybe they’ll help fill in any missing chunks!”

Olivia smiled, “Sounds great. Good way to pass some time.” 

As Olivia continued on with her book, Jesse opened his and saw it was a recipe book. ‘Not gonna help unless we suddenly crave honey pie.’ He chuckled to himself and placed the book back. There were a number of books waiting to be checked out, he was sure to find something useful.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

A few hours had passed, Jesse wasn’t sure how many, but he was absolutely bored out of his mind. Most of the books shelves were recipe books, fictional, and a few autobiographies of people he didn’t know. He had also found a photo album but decided against looking through it, he felt it’d be an invasion of privacy. Jesse had rummaged through the few chests in the room and saw Aiden and his friends were loaded with weapons and armor, all which were kept in fine condition. He surprisingly wasn’t too hungry, but took a granola bar from one of the kitchen cabinets to fill him up just in case.  
Olivia still had her face buried in the small book, she remained quiet for the most part except for the occasional page flipping when she’d get stumped.

Jesse pressed his face against one of the long windows by the front door, looking out on the few small businesses across the street who mocked him. The two-storied black smith with a dark wooden overhang that shielded the furnaces and hanging tools from the sun, the cute little general store with flower pots hanging off the roof, and the worst one, the public library. It was the biggest building of the bunch, it was two stories, made up of primarily dark oak and cobblestone, and had large, white tinted windows that exposed bookshelves filled to the brim. Their two front doors had a sign hanging in the middle reading “Closed”.  
Jesse squeezed his face against the window harder. Oh, how he’d love to dash outside, run into the library, and nab a book.

As much as Jesse didn’t want to, he started wondering about this universe’s Jesse. He originally had a theory that the roles had been reversed in this universe. Good guys were bad, and bad guys were good. But when he remembered Aiden being friends with the other Olivia, and there’s the fact the other Jesse used to be friends with them, caused his theory to crumble. Along with hearing bits of the world’s history, it was obvious this universe wouldn’t follow a “role reversed” formula.

‘This is a different universe,’ Jesse thought to himself, ‘Things are different. Things have changed. And there’s nothing I can do about it.’

Jesse sat on the couch and sunk into the cushion. Hopefully an idea to keep himself occupied would pop into his mind, but for now, there is nothing he can do. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

“Jesse?” He heard Olivia’s voice, “Come on, sleeping beauty.” She shook Jesse harder.

Jesse shot up from the couch, had he dozed off? Was he that tired? Bored? He did feel more energetic than before, so maybe he needed the nap.

“What’s up?” Jesse asked with a yawn as he pushed the hair out of his eyes. He glanced out the window, the skies were still blue and the Sun was still up, but it had lowered notably. 

Olivia was about to answer when they heard thumping from above them. Several footsteps could be heard on the second floor, slowly approaching the stairs, along with an array of mumbled voices. Jesse hopped off the couch and bounced in place, eagerly eyeing the stairs as the footsteps got louder and louder.

Finally Aiden came down.

“Woah.” Aiden blinked, “You two are up early.” He rubbed his face. He was wearing an oversized, long sleeved, green shirt as opposed to his usual, buttoned up green top Jesse was used to seeing. His pants looked the same as last night’s, a black pair of jeans. Did he sleep in them? That couldn’t have been comfortable.

“Yes, we found out there’s a time difference.” Said Stella, who followed behind. Unlike her drowsy friends, she appeared wide awake and prepared for the day, already dressed in her purple, thin striped suit top with long, striped pants to match. She had already put her makeup on as well, her face glowed.

“Uh-huh, Good morning!” Jesse paused to think, “... Afternoon? Uh… Good wake-up-ning!”

Jesse had never been more excited to see this particular group of people in his entire life. He had no idea what they planned out for today, but he was hoping it’d involve going outside. Even if it was a quick pit stop to the general store, anything was better than nothing.

Everyone scavenged the kitchen for a quick breakfast, most getting a granola bar and whatever fruit their eyes landed on; Aiden was brewing coffee. Cassie was hoarding the tupperware of butter cookies and shoving a few in her mouth, her eyes barely open.

“Don’t you think you should eat something more… Filling?” Jesse asked, watching Cassie with concern.

“My energy is sustained on Gill’s butter cookies at this point, you don’t get to criticize me.” Cassie grumbled angrily, pointing at Jesse with a cookie in her hand.

“Where’s Maya?” Asked Gill, taking a bite out of his bar as he looked around the room.

“She won’t be coming with us, her and Radar are staying here.”

“Oh no, Radar can’t come with us. Bummer.” You could practically feel the sarcasm in Cassie’s tone.

“What? What happened?” Gill looked at both Aiden and Stella.

Aiden went on to explain what took place early in the morning, how he was reading the journal from Hadrian’s and heard their door slammed open. When he--and Stella--had found Maya missing, they were about to search for her when she came rushing back in with a beaten Radar. That’s when they discovered that their Jesse was close.  
Aiden also mentioned he found old crafting recipes in the journal, recipes for alternatives of flint and steel which must’ve been used to activate different portals. The main items they’d need would be iron, flint, netherrack, red stone, and gold. While he wasn’t certain either of these activators were used on the portal in the Shrine of Eyes, it’d be good to try.

Aiden carried on, “... It’d be hard to find these things on our own, so we’re going to Petra’s. If anyone would have weird items, it’d be her.” 

“YES!” Jesse shot his arms up and surprised everyone with his unrestrained excitement. They were going out. HE was going out. Not only that, but he’d see the Petra in this universe! 

“Jesse, I’m sorry, you can’t come with us. Neither can Olivia.” Stella told him, her brows creased.

Jesse’s arms fell back down, his smile dropped, and his head hung. Was his reaction a little overdramatic? Perhaps. He understood why he couldn’t be let out, the main concerns were him being mistaken for the other Jesse or running INTO the other Jesse. Neither would end well if they were to happen, but he was allowed to feel let down. Olivia came over to pat him on the back.

“Stella’s right, we can’t let you outside…” Aiden stared down at the moping Jesse. He breathed in, “... Without a disguise!”

Cassie Rose, Gill, Stella, Jesse, and Olivia all turned to him and, in unison, exclaimed “What?!”

“We have some spare clothes upstairs, you just need to hide your faces until we’re far enough from town, it’ll be like last night.” Aiden said.

Olivia looked baffled while Jesse was beaming. He bounced about, “Yes! Yes! Thank you! This is the BEST!”

“Maya and Radar are sleeping!” Stella shushed Jesse.

“Right, right, sorry!” Jesse responded back in a whisper.  
Jesse didn’t know why he was so excited to be going out, maybe it’s because the sense of adventure--no matter how small--always felt thrilling, maybe his body yearned to move around without restrictions, who knows! Who cares! He’s going out!  
He ran to the stairs with Olivia following behind, “I’ll meet you guys!” 

Aiden was about to leave the kitchen when he was stopped by Stella, who pulled him back by the sleeve of his shirt. He turned around and faced her, Rose, and Gill.

“What are you thinking?” Stella asked, staggered by what she had witnessed.

“Yeah, you sure bout this?” Gill tilted his head.

“Yeah--Don’t worry, it’ll be alright. Just wanted to do something nice.” Aiden attempted to move past their concerns.

“That’s great and all, but be realistic.” Cassie said, pushing her glasses aside to rub her eyes.

“Exactly, what if a member from The Awakening sees us? Or our Jesse?” Stella said.

“That’s why they’re gonna wear disguises,” Aiden said, walking to the stairs, “and it’s early. Even if we did run into someone, there’d be six of us and one of them. Let’s get ready.” 

The three went upstairs to get dressed, select a weapon for the road, and--no matter how unhappy they were with Aiden’s decision--helped Jesse and Olivia with hiding their identities.

Stella had an array of coats and jackets for a variety of occasions in her closet. For Olivia, she had selected an oversized, olive green jacket to hide the shape of her body. For her face, Cassie lent Olivia a dark gray hoodie to wear underneath the jacket. Olivia had to put her hair into a ponytail to allow the hood to cover her head completely.

For Jesse, they mostly needed to hide his top--specifically his red suspenders--and his hair. Aiden had fished out a black leather jacket with a silver zipper chain that popped out, and had managed to convince Rose to lend one of her beanies to them. Jesse took the time to carefully tuck the curls of his hair under the beanie to the best of his ability, though there were always a few strands that’d stick out no matter what he did.

He knew the beanie looked ridiculous on him, but the jacket made up for it. He thought he looked great in it. Jesse would occasionally imagine himself in a leather jacket, thinking he’d look good, and always seeing Lukas in his jacket made Jesse consider getting one of his own.

Lukas.

‘I wonder how he and the others are doing. We’ve been gone for over a day now, I wonder if they’ve noticed.’ Jesse thought to himself, staring at the floor.

“Hey, you ready?” Aiden asked, grabbing Jesse’s attention.

“Uh-huh!” Jesse nodded. He followed Aiden out the room and back downstairs where the others had gathered.

After everyone had quickly shared what they were taking along, Stella bringing her bow, Cassie had her axes, Gill was equipped with a sword and a few torches in case it got dark out, and Aiden was bringing a sword of his own, along with the journal so he wouldn’t forget the items.

Aiden opened the door and tilted his head outside, “Alright, let’s go.” 

The walk through Obsidian Town was similar to Jesse and Olivia’s first experience, head down no matter what and moving at a fast pace. However, no one held Jesse’s hands together tightly or forced his head to stare at the floor, he felt more freedom than he did yesterday. And despite this being the time when everyone was asleep, Aiden, Gill, and the others stayed alert for any citizens who could be roaming around.

Aiden told the two of them when they’re far enough from the watchtowers of the town, Olivia and Jesse could look up and roam around. To get to Petra’s place, they’d have to walk through a forest which was located past the town, far right. Gill said the walk wouldn’t be too long.  
Jesse watched the ground below him transition from the concrete road, to the creaking, wooden bridge, then finally, to the dirt path. Jesse felt someone grab onto his shoulders without warning and steer him into the right direction; he nearly tripped over the uneven path.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of walking, Aiden said “Coast is clear.”

Jesse lifted the beanie--which kept sliding down his face throughout the walk--and looked around. They were in the same field from yesterday, but this was his first time seeing it under the blue sky. The green of the tall blades of grass were far more brilliant compared to the evening’s, and the array of bold colored flowers could be spotted through the grass, miles and miles away.  
Jesse turned to face Obsidian Town as they continued walking farther and farther from the main road, it appeared all the more dreary compared to its surroundings. It’s dark, obsidian border acted as a shield for the town and the people against the colorful, outside world. Who would want to stay cooped up in a town when the outside world is like this?

Olivia took her hood off--her hair flying about thanks to the static--and saw what laid ahead of them: A thick, vibrant forest with a hill behind it. She peered through the trees, the forest was devoid of sunlight. Compared to the rest of their environment, it appeared to have consumed and trapped darkness itself.

Most of the group was quiet, still drowsy from being awoken early.

“So,” Olivia said to no one specifically, “Petra doesn’t live in Obsidian Town but… By it?” She tilted her head.

“Yeah, not a people’s person.” Cassie replied, kicking around a small stone as she walked.

“Petra has a variety of items one would consider… Illegal. Items which she gets in… Illegal ways.” Stella added on, her nose scrunched. “Not that I mind! She’s not hurting anyone, but I’ve never been fond of her place. It’s so messy.” 

Gill commented as well, “If she lived in town and kept doin’ her trades, she’d prolly get her stuff taken away. Or arrested. I think.” 

“Oh!” Gill turned his head to Jesse and Olivia, “Do y’have a Petra where you’re from?” 

The two of them lit up.

Olivia nodded, “Mm-hm, great friend of ours, actually!” 

“Boy, do we have some stories.” Jesse chuckled. 

Gill nodded, eager to hear. Cassie seemed interested as well, taking a few steps closer to listen in. Jesse was doing most of the talking, talking about the wither storm, the sickness Petra got, portal hopping, how amazing and loyal she was… Jesse could recall these times as if they happened yesterday, everything was extremely vivid. He could remember the emotions, the intensity, the pain of all those events, all the while Gill listened on in awe, his eyes sparkled as he imagined the events Jesse shared in great detail.

Olivia’s focus wandered elsewhere when she started thinking of Petra. She missed her. She missed her friends. It was unsettling only her and Jesse in this universe, she was so used to traveling in big groups. Yes, her and Jesse weren’t alone, there was Aiden, Cassie Rose, Gill, Maya, Stella… But she couldn’t find herself trusting them. They’re technically strangers. Not to mention the countless times she or Jesse would trust someone, only to be betrayed and find out everything they’ve learned was a lie. Olivia didn’t think Aiden and his friends were awful people, but she wasn’t ready to trust them completely. Not yet.

“Oh!” Jesse spoke up, pulling the beanie back, “Thanks again for letting me use you beanie, Ros--”

“Cassie.” Cassie Rose corrected him.  
She shoved her hands into her hoodie’s pockets, “And, uh, no problem.” Despite being exhausted, she managed to give him a small grin.

Once the group reached the forest everyone spreaded out to give each other space as they walked along the wide trench, which was rather damp thanks to the trees shielding it from the sun. The trees--ranging from dark oak, birch, and spruce--had rather thick leaves, only allowing a few rays of the Sun to push its way through and barely illuminating their way. Aiden’s group didn’t worry too much about the barely lit trench, their destination was a straight walk through. The group would jump over any large, torn branches, rocks, or cracks in their way and step onto dead leaves too soaked to be crunched, and twigs too moist to be snapped by their weight.

The forest was a natural, chaotic mess. Trees would clash and twist into each other, vines would hang and create vague, human-like silhouettes, the grass was much longer and untamed compared to the field, the chirping of birds and bugs would blare from all around, and bits of the sky could be seen through the thick, tangled branches. 

“Moon’s up early.” Aiden observed, looking up to catch a snippet of the pale, waning gibbous from a small clearing through the branches.

Olivia was grateful for Stella’s jacket, though it was on the thinner side, it protected her from the cold captured in the forest. She’d be cautious around the cracks in the ground, none were as deep or as intimidating as the ravines she saw before, but she didn’t want to tempt fate.

‘I can’t believe we’re out here.’ Olivia thought to herself, ‘What was Aiden thinking?’  
Like Jesse, she too wanted to explore the outside world, but with another Jesse out there and a cult, what made him believe taking the two of them along to be a good idea? Her eyes would dart around, mistaking the silhouettes of fallen trees as people or a terrifying monster from the depths of her mind. 

While Olivia stayed close to Aiden, Stella, Gill, and Cassie, Jesse was hopping about and picking up whatever rock, stick, or wild berry that caught his attention. He’d observe them in wonder before running to the next eye catching object.

“Are forests not a thing in your universe?” Cassie asked aloud while Jesse continued running about.

“No--I mean--Yes! This whole ‘alternate universe’ thing is finally kicking in!” Jesse said, picking up a stick by a large, dark oak tree and waving it about. The group slowed their walking to not leave Jesse too far behind.

“Look at this! It’s a different universe tree!” Jesse exclaimed, pointing at the old oak with the stick.

“Jesse, it’s still a tree.” Olivia said.

“A tree from another universe.” Jesse smiled playfully, he tossed the stick aside and reached for one of the many smooth stones on the ground, “Do you think I could take one of these back--”

His question was interrupted by a low rumble. The world began shaking. Jesse’s first instinct was to latch onto the tree with all his might. Olivia and Cassie went to nearby trees to grab on to, Aiden stood his ground while Stella held onto Gill’s arm. 

‘Another quake?!’ Olivia gripped the thin, birch trunk tightly. The shaking wasn’t nearly as violent as it was last night, but her mind created visions of the cracks on the road opening up and consuming them all. 

She squeezed her eyes shut, praying they’d be okay when suddenly… The shaking stopped.

Everyone stood still for a moment, making sure it was truly over.

“Early ‘n quick.” Gill commented. Stella nodded and let go of him.  
He, Cassie, Stella, and Aiden continued their walk, talking amongst themselves like nothing had happened. Olivia and Jesse, on the other hand, held onto their trees for seconds longer, exchanging equally freaked out expressions before catching up with the group.

“... I’m telling you, gibbous’ are superior.” Stella was saying, “They may not look the best, but compared to the other phases…”

“Uhm, excuse me?” Olivia peeped, her eyes wide. The group kept talking.

“Dunno why you keep defendin’ that phase,” said Gill, “Quarter’s where it’s at.”

“Yes, but--”

“Excuse me!” Olivia raised her voice. Everyone turned to her as they kept walking.

Her face reddened and she glanced elsewhere, “Sorry--This may sound ridiculous but… Are tremors common here?”

“What?” Stella’s mouth hung open, “Are those not normal for you two?” 

Jesse shook his head, “I don’t remember the last time we had an earthquake.”

Cassie rolled her head back, “Ugh, lucky. I’d kill to have a month without a stupid quake.” 

“They happen weekly,” Gill said, “Like two or three times a week. They’re usually not too bad, just part of life.”

“Olivia,” Stella spun around to face her, walking backwards, “you remember back at the library with Logan? Him warning us about the full moon?” 

“Yes?” Olivia thought back to what happened yesterday, how an intense shake came out of nowhere and--despite Olivia nearly falling--the girls had shrugged it off as if it were nothing.

“Well, quakes are the absolute worst during the Full Moons and New Moons. They’re longer, more violent… Overall unpleasant.” Stella rolled her eyes, annoyed.

Cassie cleared her throat and added onto Stella’s statement, “I think you mean ‘the scary open eye’.” 

Stella threw her head back dramatically with the back of her hand on her forehead, “Oh, how uncultured of me! Of course! I can’t disrespect the ‘opened eye’, or the terrifying, ominous ‘closed eye’!” 

The two girls laughed.

“HEY.” Gill shouted with a serious tone wearing an equally serious expression, both the girls--even Aiden--turned to him, surprised by his reaction.

“This stuff’s serious…” A grin crept across his face, “The spooky blind man might getcha.”

“You had me for a second.” Cassie let out a sigh before chuckling at Gill’s words. Aiden shook his head and smiled.

Olivia turned to Jesse, relieved to see him as confused as she was. He stared at the three laughing, trying to figure out what to ask and how to word it.

“I’m sorry… Eyes?” Jesse questioned.

Stella’s laughter dwindled and looked back at Jesse, “Oh, right! You… It’s safe to assume you don’t have a cult where you’re from, right?”

Olivia and Jesse shook their heads.

“Well, there’s quite the history behind calling the phases of the moon ‘Eyes’, but I’ll do my best to simplify it. You see, The Hero’s Awakening has been around for many, MANY years, so they’ve made quite an impact on our world. One of these is with the moon.” Stella gazed up to the sky.  
“The Awakening worships The Hero, someone who is supposedly capable of committing terrible acts and has no eyes. When the moon is full, it’s referred to as the ‘Opened Eye’, since it… Well, looks similar to The Hero’s eyes. ‘Opened Eye’ means that he is watching us all, and the horrendous quake is his attempt to destroy and wipe us out. A ‘Closed Eye’ is, well, The Hero’s eyes are closed. His wrath is raw and the quake will be even more ferocious.”

Jesse nodded along, absolutely fascinated yet frightened by what he was hearing.  
“A few questions: Is The Hero real and do we need to worry about him?”

If this man was real, then he’d be added to the already long list of “Things to be afraid of in this different universe”.

“His true name is ‘Herobrine’,” Stella started, “but he’s called The Hero to fit into The Awakening’s stupid narritive. There are many reasons to doubt his existence. Honestly, the cult itself is a much bigger threat than their imaginary friend.”

Olivia began thinking back to her book and it’s missing pages. She wondered how The Hero had been around, and if he happened to have any influence on the events she had read. While she pondered a variety of theories, Jesse didn’t want to leave the conversation one sided, he wanted to contribute somehow.

“In our universe, we had someone sorta similar to The Hero. He called himself the Admin…”

Cassie Rose watched Jesse share his story for a couple of minutes before catching up with Aiden. She stared at the path ahead of her and could see the wide, manmade entrance of the hill surrounded by jumbled vines, and a lit torch placed beside the ‘doorway’ which illuminated a fraction of the cave-like interior. The exposed stone stood out from most of the hill’s grassy exterior.

“I can’t believe we have two Jesse’s now.” She muttered.

Aiden glanced at her, “We’ll get them home as fast as we can, don’--Shoot!”

“Hey Jesse!” Aiden said. Jesse’s tale came to a halt and he, Olivia, and Stella brought their attention to Aiden.

“I just remembered, we’re gonna have to call you something else. You know, prevent any confusion. How does…” Aiden thought for a moment, “Does ‘Jess’ sound good?”

Jess smiled, “Works for me!”

Their walking started to slow and came to a complete stop when they reached the front of the hill. Besides the torch, Olivia saw no signs of anyone inhabiting the cave she stared into. She looked up and spotted another small entrance on the side of the hill, and-- like the cave in front of them--its shape seemed too… Geometric to have happened naturally.

Aiden’s hand went through the entrance and knocked a few times against the stone wall. The noise started loud, bouncing around the walls before dwindling and fading back to silence. 

“Who is it?” A tired but familiar voice asked, also echoing.

He stuck his head in and raised his voice, “Aiden. With friends.” 

“Alright. You know where I am.” She replied. 

Aiden tilted his head towards the cave, motioning for everyone to follow. Jess was behind Aiden and Gill was behind Jess; Jess wasn’t able to see how far Olivia was from him.

Upon stepping foot into the cave, one thought immediately came to Jess’ head, ‘Man, it is dark here.’

The only light source, besides what little sunlight managed to make its way in, was a single torch placed on the far opposite end of the entrance, barely providing any help. Jess stuck his hands out, hoping he’d be able to feel around and not run into anything. He could barely make out who or what was in front of him.  
He could hear people’s breathing, their steps, the water dripping from the ceiling of the cave, being quiet here was impossible. 

Another feature of this cave was how cold it was, even with the leather jacket on he felt chills running throughout his body. He felt his hands make contact with the surprisingly smooth, freezing stone walls, which were closing in on them more as they continued walking--to the point where Jess could hardly extend his arms out anymore--forcing the group to follow a riggidy, zig-zag path. His fingers would occasionally collide with the thin streams of water trickling down, making him shudder.

Olivia was pressed between Stella and Cassie, she had zipped up her jacket to preserve as much warmth as possible. Olivia could feel the discomfort in Cassie’s murmurs about how she wished they had taken the other entrance. Olivia wondered if this ‘other entrance’ had a more spacious walking path than the one they were taking, she wasn’t thrilled about the limited space and borderline blindness this place provided.

Despite the tight squeeze, everyone was moving at a decent pace. As they strayed further and further from the opening, both Jess and Olivia were getting worried Aiden had no idea where he was going, and they’d all get lost or have to turn back

Jess tried his best to peek over Aiden, to see what sort of progress was being made, and his eyes instantly landed on thin rays of golden light coming from the right side of the cave’s wall. He concentrated, staring harder to see what could be the source of said-light, and was soon able to make out an old, mossy, dark brown door with vines hanging in front of it. Had it not been for the light, the door could have been easily missed.

Jess could no longer hear Aiden’s footsteps, he took it as a sign to stop walking. Shortly after Jess stood still, everyone else stopped as well.

Jess heard a clicking sound echo, followed by an ear piercing creak. Suddenly, the golden light flooded in and lit up the entire cave, Jesse squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. He’d have to enter the room the door led to soon, he couldn’t keep his eyes closed forever. He cracked one open, adjusting to the brightness, then opened the other. The light honestly wasn’t as intense as he thought it was. The light was a deep, welcoming golden-yellow with flecks glistening in the air.

Aiden pushed aside the vines and squeezed through the door. Everyone followed in, one after another. 

Olivia’s eyes widened when she walked into the ‘room’, which was a portion of the hill hollowed out and decorated with all sorts of items. Lanterns hung from the high ceiling by thick ropes, giving the area a golden hue. There were no flames in them, however, but dust. Glowstone dust.

The walls had blocky ledges which held up chests, crafting tables, anvils, and somewhere, a jukebox playing a tune of low chimes with a consistent beat.  
Standing tall on the opposite side of the group was a deactivated Nether portal, which sat upon a mossy stone base. On the left side of the portal were cracked nether bricks, and on the right, blocks of diamonds that had seen better days. Both of these were constructed in a shape nearly identical to the Nether Portal. Resting by these structures was a skull too large to be human’s, it had a white coat of paint with little bits chipped off.

Chests were lined up against walls, others could be seen beside staircases, others were on staircases, some were on top of other chests, there was no rhyme nor reason to their placements.

Olivia noticed there were several different--probably equally messy--rooms the area branched off into, each with their own staircases. There were a few rooms built high up into the walls, which were connected to the main stone floor with long, uneven stairs held up by sloppily constructed poles of wood. It was a miracle they hadn’t collapsed yet.

It was amazing how such a spacious place could feel so cluttered.

“Some place…” Jess whispered to Olivia.

“You’re telling me.”

“Could you imagine if Axel was here?” Jess chuckled, “He’d love this.”

“Oh, I ran into Axel at the library!” Olivia remembered.

Jess’ eyes brightened, “Seriously?!”

“Comin’.” Petra’s voice came from one of the higher rooms. She hopped out of the gaping hole and ran down a couple of steps from the dangerous staircase before leaping off the side nonchalantly.

Petra held onto a sleek, diamond pickaxe with one hand while brushing herself off with the other. She pulled her black and gray striped bandana back into place with her other arm, which had a bandage wrapped tightly around it. Another bandaged was seen on her left leg below her torn, dark gray shorts as she headed towards the group. Her boots were worn down, gray, and had two straps securing their place.

“Hey guys,” Petra glanced up, “Hey Rose. What do you ne-- Woah.” Her eyes locked onto Olivia and widened.

She pointed at Olivia with her pickaxe, “Aren’t you… Supposed to be dead?”

“She was--she is! It’s…” Aiden paused, “We need your help.” 

Aiden, with the help of Cassie Rose, Stella, and Gill, and with the confirmations from Jess and Olivia, caught Petra up on what had happened. Petra listened carefully, resting her arm on the head of her pickaxe as she nodded along. 

“So lemme get this straight…” She started, straightening herself up and adjusting her black vest with dark yellow lining at its end and collar. She wore a blue and light gray striped shirt underneath.

“Some crazy portal to another universe opens up,” She pointed at Jess and Olivia, “THESE TWO pop out… And your first conclusion is that I’m somehow responsible for it.”

“No, no, no! Not at all! We needed to see if you had any specific items.” Stella assured her. Petra still didn’t seem convinced.

“Petra, we’re not accusing you of taking part of this.” Aiden said, “Maybe you sold materials to someone who ended up activating the portal. I know you’ve had to deal with creeps before.” 

Petra glared at Jess, “How do we know he’s telling the truth?”

Aiden pushed Jess in front of her, “Say whatever’s on your mind, Jess.” 

Jess turned to Aiden then back to Petra. He cleared his throat.

“Hi, I’m Jesse--Jess--and, uh… It’s real great to meet an alternate Petra…” He wasn’t good at forcing a conversation out. He glanced around the cave to spark an idea of what talk about.  
“I am absolutely loving this place, the hanging bottles, the chests everywhere... “ Something inside of him clicked and got the ball rolling, “Do you like treasure hunting? Our Petra LOVES treasure hunting, everytime we’re adventuring she’s all excited for what we’ll find! Oh, like this one time, we entered a--”

“Stop.” Petra put her finger in front of his face, silencing him. “You’re too cheerful. I’ll believe you if… You tell me what Stella’s like in your universe.”

“Stella?” Jess glanced at the woman in question, who wore a puzzled expression as well. “Well, we aren’t too close… She ran Champion City, mostly acts real high and mighty, always wants to be in charge, that’s the most that comes to mind.”

“Oh, so nothing’s changed?” Petra said with a straight face.

Cassie failed at holding back her laughter as she hunched over with her hands covering her mouth. Aiden and Gill did a far better job at hiding their smirks from their friend. Petra grinned at Cassie Rose’s reaction.

“Excuse me!?” Stella’s face reddened. She whipped her head over to Cassie, “Do you really think I’m like that?!”

“No--no, it’s just--” Cassie kept covering her face, “Just the way she said it--I love you Stella, I swear, I swear I’m just--” She said through chuckles.

“Okay, jokes aside…” Aiden said, wanting to get back on topic, “Did you deal with anyone who looked even a little suspicious? We need to get these two home.”

Petra stared for a moment longer before glancing at Jess and Olivia. She sucked in air through her teeth and folded her arms, “There was… One guy who kinda weirded me out.”

“I’ve never seen him before, but he told me a friend had sent him. He was a big guy, looked harmless enough. He was rreeealll antsy about getting his hands on some redstone and gold.” Petra began making her way to one of the many chests lined up against the wall, her pickaxe over her shoulder.

Aiden cursed to himself as he took out the journal, flipping through the pages to find the crafting recipes. Those were a part of the materials they needed. 

“Do you have any left?” Gill asked as Aiden continued searching.

Petra opened the chest and dug through it, “Nope. They took the whole stock. He sure was loaded…” She mumbled the last part to herself.

Cassie recalled the other items, she stood back up and pushed up her glasses, “What about iron or netherrack? Any of those?”

“Actually--Huh.” Petra pulled out a porkchop from the chest, “I didn’t know that was in there. Anyways...” She shoved it into her mouth. Stella repressed the urge to hurl. 

“The guy did take a bunch of iron but I might have a few pieces left.” Petra closed the chest, moved over to the next one, dug around, and when she couldn’t find what she was looking for, moved on to the next. She’d grab nearby jars and used their light to help her search through the chests’ dark insides.

Stella placed her hands on her hips as she watched Petra search, “This place is so chaotic! I need to come over one day and help you reorganize everything, maybe label some chests, rearrange your rooms…”

“No. No way. This is organized chaos. I know where everything is--Found ‘em!” Petra pulled out a few bars of iron along with chunks of netherrack. She tossed them over to Gill, who quickly snatched them from the air and held onto them tightly.

“You better be smart with how you use that netherrack,” Petra said, “I might like the Nether, but it is Hell to deal with. I don’t wanna be jumping in and out of there cause you keep messin’ up your crafting.”

“What about the redstone or gold? How soon could you get those?” Aiden asked, looking up from the journal.

“Oh jeez…” Petra scratched her face and thought, “If I’m really lucky, then maybe a week? Stuff’s not easy to find.” 

Aiden let out a sigh, “No--yeah, I understand. Thanks.” He closed the journal, “What do we owe you?” 

“Nothin’. Friend discount.” Petra gave them a smile, “When I find the other materials, I’ll be sure to let you know.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

The walk back to Obsidian Town was nice, the sky was still blue but the Sun was nearing the horizon. Jess was grateful to see natural light and feel warmth again, while Olivia was thankful she didn’t have to walk through the tight walls of the cave ever again.

Everyone was talking to one another about different topics. Olivia and Jess were excitedly discussing Petra and her home, Stella and Aiden were figuring out what to do about the missing materials, and Cassie and Gill were exchanging past experiences with Petra.

Of course, once they got near the town, Olivia and Jess hid their faces and looked down. More people were up and walking about, so Aiden and the others stayed close to hide the two the best they could.

Once they reached the house, Maya opened the door and gave them a tired ‘Welcome back’.

They all poured into the house, laying on the couches, stretching, or going into the kitchen in search for another breakfast.

“Radar still asleep?” Aiden asked, sitting on one of the stools by the bar.

Maya shook her head, “Took him back to his place. He’ll be okay.”

She was about to ask how everything went with Petra when she suddenly remembered something. 

She huffed, “Shoot. Left his board back in my room.”

“Don’t worry.” Aiden scanned around the room, “Hey Jess!” He called. 

“Yeah?” Jess was sprawled out on one of the couches.

“Radar left his clipboard in Maya’s room, think you could get it?” Aiden needed to catch Maya up on what had happened, and Jess was the first person his eyes landed on.

“You got it!” Jess stood up and stretched his legs before running to the stairs.

When he reached the second floor, he stopped to think. He didn’t remember which room was Maya’s… But he did remember her room was in the left hallway on the left side. 

‘There’s three doors on the left side. Guess I’ll quickly look in each one and see if I spot it.’ Jess approached the first door and opened it. He popped his head into the room and scanned it. A green messy bed, a neatly done red bed, a really cluttered desk and…

‘Hey! Is that…?’ Jess slipped in and walked up to a relatively tidy bookshelf where Olivia’s hat laid. 

He picked up the hat, ‘So that’s where you’ve been.’  
Jess saw something reflecting the Sun’s light from the corner of his eye, he shifted his head down and saw a pair of thick, bulky, gray goggles which rested atop a brown, leather journal. He placed the hat down and carefully lifted up the goggles. They had a thin layer of dust on them and looked fragile.

The goggles sort of reminded him of Lukas’. Jess started getting curious about the journal and moved it closer, only to reveal a piece of paper underneath it.

Aiden came rushing upstairs and skidded to a halt when he saw Jess.

“I just remembered you have no idea where anything is,” Aiden chuckled, “Sorry about…” His smile faded as he stared at the back of Jess.

“Aiden?” Jess asked, “What is this?”

Jess turned around, and in his hands he held a picture of a brightly smiling Lukas with bold words below it reading “MISSING”.


	10. The Dark Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Dark Room

If you were to leave Obsidian Town and walk north for some time, you would run into a large ravine. Peering into the ravine, you’d be met with an abyss and believe sunlight could never make its way in there. The end of this ravine met where the forest--one of many--began. If you walked to where these two collided, you’d find a smooth stone staircase hidden between the old oak trees. The stairs led to the very bottom of the ravine; the steps were built into the sides of it. Redstone torches, which were only lit during the day, were placed above every several steps.

Once you’ve reached the bottom, you’d be greeted with a field of green grass with puffy, red flowers scattered about. Bushes with budding flowers were placed along the dirt path, helping to better define the clearing in the field.

The path would lead your eyes to the entrance of--one of the many shrines of--The Hero’s Awakening. Two towering, beige columns--one broken, the other still standing--had been wrapped by vines, and stood on both sides of the shrine’s entrance.

The shrine was built into the ravine itself, and was much more spacious than the exterior leads one to believe,

Above the wide, open doorway was The Awakening’s symbol, a simplified shape of a hollow eye which watched all who entered.

Their doors were always opened when the Sun was out, serving as a home and a haven for the people. Even after gatherings.

It was quite the walk from home, but to many, the traveling was worth it.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“... And I was trying to help!” Jesse exclaimed, his voice echoing through the empty nave. The only other people here were Cecil, who was sitting in one of the many barren benches, and Brenner, who stood across from Jesse. There was no gathering happening for the next few hours, so Jesse could raise his voice as much as he pleased.

“I am aware, Jesse.” Brenner began. His arms were at his side, stiff. “But what you did was reckless and unprompted. You put yoursel--”

“_Unprompted_?” Jesse repeated. His face twitched.

“I thought _you guys_ wanted to know what Aiden was doing!” He pointed to Cecil then to Brenner.

Cecil’s head kept swishing back from Jesse to Brenner whenever either of them spoke. His sickly pale skin and light blond hair would constantly be caught in the corner of Jesse’s eye, annoying him to no end. It was like a bug continuously zipping by that Jesse would love to crush but couldn’t.

“We never said such a thing, Jesse. Perhaps you misheard.” Brenner said, his foggied eyes locked onto Jesse’s face. “Regardless, you’ve been able to receive information far better and quieter than yesterday.”

“Now hold on!” Jesse started approaching Brenner, his hands curling into fists as Cecil watched him with worry. “I was _not_ the one screaming my head off, that was all Radar’s--”

The moment Brenner heard his words with the nearing footsteps, he slapped the side of Jesse’s head with as much force as possible. Jesse stumbled back and rubbed the stinging area, glaring at the man through the curls of his hair.

“You do not speak that traitor’s name here!” Brenner finally raised his voice, looking down on the boy.

“You have been acting rambunctious and careless these past few weeks. We finally retrieved you from prison after Cavern City and what did you do? Threw yourself out there and drew all attention towards yourself! How do you justify such behavior?!”

“I’m only doing what you wanted.” Jesse argued. “You guys keep sitting around, planning, waiting for everything to fall into place! I just want to GET somewhere.”

Cecil stood up from his seat, ready to join the quarrelling, but Brenner heard him shifting and motioned him to sit back down.

“Is this about your two friends, Jesse?” Brenner asked with a horrible mixture of sympathy and shaming. A tone which only Brenner perfected. A tone that could back anyone into a miserable corner.

Jesse stiffened. He gripped and pulled on a handful of his hair. He didn’t want to respond.

“I was afraid of this.” Brenner said after receiving no answer. “Is this… Impulsiveness because of your friends? You do understand for everything to work, you must be patient. They’re only a small part...”

“Shut up…” Jesse muttered to himself as Brenner continued. He’s heard variations of this lecture before. How he’s _‘over dramatic'_ or _‘acts out’_. Usually, he’d hate them for the way Brenner spoke, treating him like a misbehaving child rather than an adult. But this time, this lecture was different. More… Personal. To have Brenner bring Jesse’s deceased friends into it made him tremble with anger. Brenner had promised him if everything played out as it’s supposed to, Lukas and Olivia would be back. Of course Jesse wants to rush and finish every part of the plan, of course he’s going to be _‘reckless’_, those were his only friends. He’s told Brenner this before. Why doesn’t he understand that?

“... Honestly, it makes me wonder if you even deserve to have them--”

Jesse’s eyes widened and, without any restraint, shouted “SHUT UP!”

Jesse’s grave mistake echoed through the hollow nave. Brenner’s talking ceased and he stood still. Cecil’s pupils shrunk and he held his breath.

Jesse had rarely ever raised his voice at Brenner, much less yell at him. No one did.

The echo seemed to have rang throughout the room for ages before it finally faded. All Jesse and Cecil could do was wait. Wait for Brenner’s brows to crease, for the scowl to form, for his posture to stiffen further as he’d peer down.

But he didn’t.

Strangely, his body loosened. His shoulders drooped as he slowly put his hands behind his back, looking at Jesse with… Concern.

“Or perhaps…” Jesse recognized the tone Brenner was speaking in all too well. “You need time to think.”

Brenner began walking towards him. Cecil left his seat to join the elder man’s side. Usually Jesse would back down, be verbal with his refusal to come, or show any sign of resistance, but a part of him had anger still fueled by Brenner’s words.

He stood in place, watching Cecil extend his hand out--the long sleeve of his disgusting brown suit swaying with his movement--before Jesse shoved him away.

“I don’t need you to hold my hand.” Jesse muttered through gritted teeth, loud enough for Cecil to hear but not Brenner. “I know where it is.”

Cecil stepped back, visibly frustrated.

‘I wish you had been blinded as well.’ Jesse thought to himself as shoved past the two of them, making his way to the door hole at the very end of the nave.

The ‘door’ was on the far left from the stage. On the stage was a wooden podium with The Awakening’s cracked and worn symbol that has stood here for ages, ancient, dusty pots which were only decorated and lit for special occasions, and two long, draping banners--wrinkle free--that hung from the walls. In the middle of the wall between the banners--far enough to not cause a fire--were two redstone torches. Their combined fires were bright enough to nearly illuminate the stage and nave entirely. All except for the door hole. A hole which led to a dark hallway devoid of all life, light, and comfort. It was almost as if light itself avoided the area.

No matter where you sat at the nave, the door could always be seen. Even a snippet of it. It was a reminder. A warning of where the people could be dragged to if they acted out.

“Maybe I do need more time away from you.” Jesse said, making his way to the door hole and stepping into the abyss of a hallway. Brenner followed behind--Cecil as well--having no problem keeping up with Jesse’s fast walking. Jesse heard no response from either of them. All he did hear were his footsteps echoing as he continued walking deeper and deeper into the hall, growing colder and colder.

Jesse picked up the pace. He could see the weak glow of the redstone torch at the end of the hallway. The fire was barely enough to light the door, which was built into the left side of the hall.

Jesse gripped the cold, metal knob and swung the door open. “I finally got out of jail only for you to put me in another one. Fine by me!”

Oh, how he _wished_ Brenner could see the scowl on his face.

“Jesse, this is not a ‘prison’, it’s merely--”

Jesse didn’t want to hear it. He slammed the door in front of Brenner’s face as hard as he could, wishing the force would crumble the walls and crush them all. He leaned against the door and pressed his face against the rough wood of the door. He heard Brenner sigh then lock the door.

“Please understand this isn’t punishment. I would never do such a thing.” Brenner said on the other side. “I only want you to… Think. Think of what you’ve done, what’s been going on… We’ll continue this conversation once you’ve calmed down.”

Jesse wasn’t sure if Brenner was expecting a response, but he gave him a half hearted “Mhm.”

Jesse kept his face against the door, listening to Brenner and Cecil walk away as they talked to themselves. About Jesse. Once Jesse could no longer hear the steps or chatter, he turned back around to face a room he was far too acquainted with. The Dark Room.

He had been in this room a number of times throughout his few years with The Awakening. All for reasons Jesse could not recall. Perhaps it was mostly arguing. Verbal. That was what Brenner had always said. Jesse didn’t think he had ever gotten physical in the past. He could control himself, even during the most frustrating times, today being one of the examples.

‘I didn’t even do anything.’ Jesse grumbled to himself. Was defending yourself considered a sin now? Brenner had seen Jesse at his lowest moments, he had heard his raised voice before, yet Brenner would never give a proper explanation to why Jesse would be taken to this miserable room. _‘Calm down’, ‘Think’, ‘Don’t let your emotions get the better of you’_.

Jesse shifted around, letting his back lay against the door, and stared at what little the room provided.

All there was here were four falls.

Four stupid walls.

Three bare walls and one wall straight across from the door with two redstone torches placed high. No matter how dim, they were the only source of light. The two torches are, in Mahlon’s words, ‘The Hero’s eyes watching you’. Jesse could never see it.

‘Think.’ Brenner’s voice echoed in his head.

Think? About what? What is there to think about? About how much he despised this room?

He had his own room in the shrine. They offered it to him when he had nowhere else to go, and he was grateful for it. Jesse had wondered if being sent to his room would be blissful or humiliating in comparison to being thrown into this horrid place. Yes, he’d be treated like a child, but his room had things to keep him occupied. His journal, the few books The Awakening gifted him, a pen to scribble with, a bed to rest on.

But here? There was nothing.

Actually, that wasn’t necessarily true. Besides the unavoidable torches, there was something in this room, and it was far from delightful.

Jesse knew he wasn't the only person to have been locked in here before, he knew Radar had been here once, and it’s evident the moment you step in. An overpowering, nauseating scent of sweat, urine, feces, and vomit of the people who had been here before was enough to make anyone sick. And though Jesse had been able to deal with this repulsive smell more and more, he still understood just how disgusting it was. They had never cleaned this place. Jesse knew. He had seen the same stains and piles remain with each visit.

The two cleanest areas of this room was a small portion of the floor by the door, and by the torches, where most people tend to stay by. He was uncertain if the walls were cleaned, but he didn’t want to take any chances. There were a few instances where Jesse had dozed off in the room, and each time he’d awaken with the smell holding onto and choking him while grime stuck to his face and clothes. Jesse’s feet would cramp for staying in his shoes for too long, but he refused to take them off here. He would never condemn neither his socks or feet to ever come into contact with the cold, sickly floor.

Jesse, unlike the many others who had been taken here before, could survive in this room. He could tolerate the aches of staying in the same position for hours, his appetite had dwindled throughout the months, and he’s learned to suppress many of his body’s urges.

All Jesse can do is sit around, ‘think’, and wait.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A few hours must’ve passed, Jesse could hear footsteps and chattering growing by the minute. A gathering will be happening soon.

It didn’t feel like a few hours passed. Jesse couldn’t explain it, but whenever he sat in place, pulling his hair or finding another way to keep himself occupied, time managed to fly by. A window would be nice. A window would be wonderful. He’d love to see a snippet of the sky rather than the murky gray surrounding him, and those red torches with their red glow.

Jesse didn’t mind the gatherings, he often attended them, but being in the room while one was taking place was a different story. Here, he dreaded them. They seemed significantly longer and louder. He didn’t know if the leaders did this intentionally or not. Their raised voices would travel through the hall, push their way through the cracks of the door, and into Jesse’s head.

The commotion had died down, and those sweet seconds of silence allowed Jesse to prepare for the eternity of talking.

He breathed in and placed his ear against the door. He couldn’t do anything else but listen.

While the gathering’s introduction--a brief speech of what the leaders would be talking about today--started out muffled, Jesse recognized the deep tone as Brenner’s.

“...With the anniversary of The Hero’s Banishment approaching, I can only imagine how excited you must be. And while Cecil, Mahlon, and I do have plans for the day, we believe now would be the time to discuss the importance of restraint and _patience…_”

Jesse shot up, grit his teeth, and saw red. He glared at the door, hoping the daggers would dig into Brenner’s skull. Jesse kept staring intensely at the door, his hands clenched and shaking. He hated it. He hated it. He hated it.

He swung his leg back and began kicking the door. He kept kicking at a consistent speed, getting increasingly louder; he wouldn’t accomplish anything, the door was new, it wouldn’t break. But he knew they could hear him, he could interrupt the leaders with enough of a ruckus.

Jesse stopped. A smile crept across his face.

‘They can hear me.’ Jesse remembered. Yes, the only benefit to this room and the hollow hallway, he can hear them and _they_ can hear _him_. Why waste his energy thrashing about?

He just needs to be… Patient.

Jesse turned back around and leaned against the door, waiting for the time to come.

He’d have to wait for the People’s Payment to finish before the speech would start. Then he could begin. The Payment was the shortest part of the gathering; row by row, people would come to the stage and offer however much money they desire, but if they did not have any money on them--or chose not to donate--then they’d ‘pay’ with a Truth. A confession. To admit to anything, no matter how big or small. A small number of people, mostly newcomers, often confessed to smaller actions, such as breaking a framed photo, stealing, misdemeanors, but you’d have the rare instances where others would confess to heinous thoughts and actions.

Jesse could make out the leaders’ “Thank you”s, the faint confessions of the people, the money being placed into the basket, all those tiny sounds combining and fueling Jesse’s excitement.

Everyone fell silent again. Brenner cleared his throat, everyone leaned close, ready to listen. Even Jesse found himself eager for Brenner to begin talking.

The moment Brenner began speaking, a strange happiness rushed through Jesse. He had never been happier to hear his voice today. He allowed Brenner to continue the speech for several minutes, waiting like an enthusiastic child for the perfect moment.

Once he was certain Brenner had become immersed in the discussion, Jesse took a lungful of the repulsive air.

“MENDAX!”

Brenner continued talking.

“MENDAX!”

The talking weakened for a moment before carrying on.

Jesse remembered listening in on a conversation the leaders had when they believed he was asleep, where Malhon--the oldest of the three--was ranting about how much he despised the word. Jesse had no idea what the word meant, nor the history behind it, but he one day said the word aloud with Mahlon in earshot and was met with deafening shouting and thrown into the room. He was let out far sooner than expected, their reason being Jesse’s lack of knowledge of the word.

“MENDAX!”

To this day, Jesse still doesn’t know why such a word sparks such an outrage, but he knows it made the leaders upset. And that was enough for him.

“MENDAX!”

He’d only yell the world when in the dark room. He thought it a harmless way to ‘get back’ at the leaders, make them ‘even’. Being in the room was already his punishment, they couldn’t possibly punish him any more. Jesse wished he could see their faces each time he spoke it, to see them repress their anger in front of the people must be a sight to see. It’d interrupt the gathering, Mahlon would send Cecil over to tell him to knock it off like usual, and Jesse would continue until his throat would burn.

“MENDAX!”

He began banging on the door with his fist, occasionally twisting the knob reckless to make it sound like he was attempting to escape. He could no longer hear Brenner’s voice, but he did hear footsteps approaching.

‘Cecil.’ Jesse thought to himself. He stood up and positioned himself by the door, close enough to be face to face with Cecil the second he’d open it.

He heard the jangling of keys and the turning of the knob.

The door cracked open. Jesse’s eyes widened, he instinctively backed away, and what little of a smile he had vanished.

“_Are you done?_” Brenner asked coldly, his white eyes piercing into Jesse.

Brenner had never been the one to quiet Jesse. Not in the room. Never. Never. Never.

Brenner took Jesse’s silence as a ‘Yes’ and closed the door, leaving Jesse alone once again.

Jesse clutched his stomach, his petty anger had been replaced with… Not fear… Not fear. Worry. Worried he would stay here longer, worried what Brenner was going to do, worry.

Jesse sat down, his back facing the door. He had dug himself into this four cornered hole, and all he could do now is wait.

He hugged his knees. He couldn’t think of anything. All sounds have been drowned out. The talking, the footsteps, the crackling of the torches’ fires, everything.

He remained in the position for a while. He wasn’t sure if it had been minutes or an hour, but it was a while. His eyes had been kept on the small bits of torn skin on his fingers as he spaced out.

It was beginning to bother him.

It was beginning to bother him a lot.

He needed to take his mind off of what had happened somehow. He needed something.

He slowly began picking at the skin around his thumb, slowly scratching and peeling whatever he could grab onto.

He would do this often. It helped.

It helped.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He stared at his hands, attempting to pick off the remaining bits of skin, but just barely touching them caused them to sting intensely. He stretched his hands out in front of him and stared. They were torn, burning, and red. He moved his fingers about in the darkness, watching them. Watching them. In the dark. Watching.

He couldn’t stare at them any longer.

He couldn’t.

It reminded him of--

It reminded him of--

How long has he been in here?

The gathering ended long ago.

How long were they planning on keeping him here?

He was usually kept in the dark room for six to eight hours, but that was his rough estimate.

The longest time he had been kept in this room was 12 hours. Supposedly. He had fallen asleep in there, and was informed of how long he had been locked in when Cecil awoke him. A part of Jesse wondered if he was lying.

The first time he was in the dark room was his shortest time. He was only there for four hours. He was in there because of Radar. Jesse could recall his first time in the room all too well.

After he had spent his first few months in The Awakening, Jesse kept asking about Radar. Why did they hate him? Why did he leave? He heard Radar’s side of the story, but began questioning the legitimacy of it after spending more time in the shrine. He wanted to hear the other side, but was dismissed and told _‘not to talk about him’_, to _‘never interact with him’_. Jesse didn’t listen and did so anyways. He had found Radar and asked for an explanation, to elaborate on his experience with The Awakening, to explain why he’s referred to as a ‘quitter’, but Radar panicked.

Radar panicked and told Aiden where Jesse had been.

Then Aiden and all his friends tried to find him, and Brenner found out, and--he hated him. He hated Aiden, he hated Aiden’s friends, he hated that damned quitter. He hated him.

It was Radar’s fault Jesse was thrown into the room for the first time, and now it was Radar’s fault Jesse was thrown into the room this time. That damned--

_Crack_

Jesse brought his head up.

_Snap_

Those dreadful torches.

Many people would bring themselves closer to the torches, they were the miniscule source of warmth and light within this unforgiving room. But not Jesse. Not anymore.

Jesse despised these torches. The flames which never went out, the wood that’d never burn out, the faint smell of smoke that mixed with the bodily fluids, the crackling of the fires perfectly mimicking the sound of breaking bones that’d interrupt any coherent thoughts, how the torches managed to make the room feel even colder.

_Crack_

He hated them.

_CRACK_

Jesse slowly stood up, his strained eyes locked onto the torches as he approached them. He had tried to tear those wretched things from their place every time he was here and never could.

But this time…

This time will be different.

Jesse stood before the taunting wall, looking up at the torches. They were so close. So close within his reach.

Though the wall might’ve been filthy, Jesse couldn’t care less. He pressed himself against the wall and shot an arm up, trying to reach for the wood of the torch while his other hand dug into the cracks of the wall.

He stood on the tip of his toes, the tips of his fingers barely brushed against the wood.

He was so close.

He was so close.

It can’t be that hard.

It can’t.

He kept stretching his arm, attempting to grab either of them several times. His arm was quickly growing tired, he let his hand drag down the wall, scraping the skin of his fingers along the way as dirt stuck onto them.

He hated this.

He shot both arms up, desperately trying to grab--to feel--the torch, imagining the satisfaction he’d be rewarded with. He instinctively put one foot against the wall, as if ready to climb, and tried throwing both arms towards the torches. When one would fail, he’d drag it against the wall, causing his hands to feel as though they’ve been set ablaze.

He’d scratched and tear at the walls, jumped, pleaded, all while sweat began mixing with his saliva; his eyes forced tears out.

Each time his hands would scratch the wall, they’d run past a section which was getting more and more damp. It could be filth. It could be his blood.

He didn’t care if his fingers bled, if the skin would shred and be reduced to nothing but bone. He didn’t care for his burning eyes, begging him to blink and look away from the horrid light. He refused to blink. He refused to stop. He wanted to get them.

He will get them.

He hated them.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The door opened, Brenner stepped in.

Before him, on the far other end of the room, stood Jesse. His side against the wall, hunched over, taking heavy breaths as his burning, aching fingers were sprawled out. He stared at the man with eyes showing both exhaustion and wildness. All energy had been taken, all he could do was remain in place with his mouth open. Breathing. Watching.

“Did you get all of that out of your system?”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YEEAAA Finished this s u c k e r  
Hope you guys'll like it!! ;v;

_“Alright, that should do it.” Lukas said, closing the saddlebag and giving the dark bay horse a few pats._

_He turned around to face his friends who stood under the arch of Obsidian Town’s entrance. Lukas won’t be seeing them for a while, and seeing their smiles--and Stella fanning her eyes--was making the idea of leaving the town a whole lot harder. _

_Lukas didn’t want to leave. He truly didn’t. He wanted to stay here and train with Maya, enjoy Gill’s hot meals, visit Petra with Cassie Rose, help Stella with her planning or Olivia with her contraptions, or sit on the balcony and write a story as Jesse would spitball ideas while Aiden poked fun at him for being ‘cheesy’. But he offered to help. North Wind City needed as much help as they could get after The Awakening summoned their lava monstrosity that Lukas and the others defeated. It tore apart their barrier, crushed people’s homes, it wasn’t going to be easy but the city needed to be pieced back together._

_He gave his friends a warm smile and adjusted his goggles, “I’ll see you guys soon?”_

_“We’ll miss you!” Olivia grinned, rubbing her hands together in an attempt to keep herself warm in the crisp cold of the early morning._

_North Wind City was quite the distance from Obsidian Town, on horseback alone the journey would take a couple of hours, plus the possible detours when he’ll run into the enormous ravines. Lukas wanted to leave before sunrise, yes, he might get drowsy while traveling, but he wouldn’t be wandering in the dark. _

_“You’re gonna send letters, right? Won’tcha?” Gill asked with a cracking but enthusiastic voice._

_“As long as you promise to write me back.” Lukas responded._

_Gill nodded, “Ya--Of course! Of course I will!” _

_“Oh, I’m going to miss you so much--!” Stella exclaimed, failing to keep the tears back. Maya and Cassie gave her comforting pats on the back._

_“He’s not going away forever, don’t worry.” Cassie tried to reassure Stella. Cassie changed the topic to distract the both of them from their sadness, “Maybe we could uh… Plan his welcome back party.”_

_“Yeah, he’ll be back before we know it!” Gill added._

_“They’re right.” Lukas agreed, approaching his tearful friend and giving her a hug, letting her sob into his leather jacket._

_“You guys will be focused on fixing Obsidian Town, you won’t even notice I’m gone.” Lukas said while Olivia carefully pryed Stella off of the blond. Stella leaned on Olivia’s shoulders to wipe away her running mascara as she nodded to Lukas’ statement._

_“Be safe.” Maya said._

_“Yeah, and try not to bore the town too much with your little stories.” Aiden chimed in, a playful smirk on his face._

_“Only if you promise not to forget everything and ruin the town.” Lukas rolled his eyes._

_“Alright, you know what?” Aiden went over and hoisted Lukas over his shoulders, taking him back to his steed._

_“You should head off now, don’t wanna keep the people waiting.” He said as Lukas kept--lightly--hitting Aiden’s back, demanding he put him down through laughs, lighting the mood._

_Aiden set his friend next to the horse and placed a hand on his shoulder, “I’m kidding. I’m sure they’ll love you. And your writing.”_

_The group wasn’t going to feel whole without Lukas for the next several months. It was definitely a surprise to them when he offered to set off to another place by himself, everyone had known Lukas as the writer who wanted nothing more than to stay home with his friends, writing in his journal. _

_“Yeah.” Lukas grinned, “You guys will do great. I know it.” _

_Lukas made sure his bags were secured before hopping onto the horse. He turned his head to face his friends, “Tell Radar I said goodbye!”_

_His eyes landed on the quietest of the bunch, Jesse, who wore a small, weak smile. Lukas knew how much Jesse hated goodbyes, how could he possibly leave his friend on a sorrowful note? _

_“Jesse!” Lukas called out. Jesse jumped and lifted his head._

_“Make sure these guys don’t kill each other.” He grinned, “I’m counting on you!” _

_Jesse’s smile grew, becoming more genuine as he nodded, “I will.”_

_Lukas stared at his friends for a moment longer. ‘If anything ever happens,’ Olivia’s words from last night rang through his head, ‘You know who to go to.’  
Yes, he’d be far, but he wasn’t going to be alone. He had people to turn to. That’s what’s important._

_He gave the horse a light kick to start a steady pace, hoping to speed up once he passed the larger ravines. Lukas heard his friends’ goodbyes, Stella’s tearful “Love you!”, Aiden jokingly telling him not to fall off the horse as Olivia shushed him. Lukas couldn’t bring himself to glance back at his friends, fearful his mind would change._

_Jesse watched as Lukas got farther and farther, his friends soon stopped their waving and talked amongst themselves. Olivia and Gill were still comforting Stella--who was much calmer than she was a few minutes ago--while the others discussed how they would help Radar, who had helped with planning of reconstructing Obsidian Town. _

_Jesse couldn’t tear his eyes off of his distancing friend, his heart was pumping, he felt his hands shake, his eyes welled with tears. This shouldn’t be tearing at him as much as it is, but he hated how awful the goodbye felt. He hated himself for not saying more. _

_“You okay?” Gill asked. _

_Jesse faced his concerned friend and wiped away his tears, nodding._

_“Yea… Yeah. I’m just… I need to--” Without Jesse’s command, his body took off running after Lukas. He heard his friends' confused shouts grow fainter as he kept getting closer and closer to Lukas. The tall grass, the distant trees, the bright flowers, the dusty orange sky, everything was blurring together into incoherent chaos, but his eyes remained on Lukas, who was nothing but a blob of colors._

_“LUKAS!” Jesse shouted, reaching his hand out. _

_Lukas jolted and stopped his horse, whipping his head around to see a crying, winded Jesse approach him. _

_When Jesse’s hand was in reach, Lukas grabbed it and held onto it. He was shaking. They were both shaking._

_“I’m sorry, I--” Jesse began, rubbing the tears off his face with the sleeve of his other arm. “I’m… I’m gonna miss you. You know that, right?”_

_This was such an overreaction. Such an overreaction. He had rarely ever held someone’s hand, but he didn’t want to let Lukas go. He didn’t want Lukas to leave. Jesse knew he was coming back, but a special, unignorable pain accompanied the view--the mere thought--of watching your childhood friend leave. This wasn’t like when the both of you would set off, knowing you’d see each other tomorrow, knowing you’d be the same person tomorrow as you were today. This was counting down the days until your reunion, hoping neither of you had changed into a complete stranger._

_Lukas’ mouth hung open for a moment.  
He swallowed and kept a strong face for Jesse, “Of course I do. How about this:” Lukas’ eyes brightened, “The minute I come back, we’ll go to the Coal Cafe together, we’ll share stories and everything. That’s a promise.”_

_“A promise?” Repeating those words warmed him. Comforted him. It was going to be okay. _

_Jesse took a deep breath, “Okay,”  
He squeezed Lukas’ hand for the last time, “Be safe.”_

_“Always.” Lukas said, slipping his hand out of Jesse’s grasp and continuing the journey._

_Jesse stood in the open field, watching his friend leave. He was at ease._

_Olivia ran to his side, “Are you going to be alright? You know we’re here if you need anything.” _

_“Yeah. Thank you.” He turned to Olivia and was surprised to see her hunched over, catching her breath. Had he really run that far?_

_The others quickly caught up--Aiden ruffled Jesse’s hair for making them chase after him--and all expressed how they’ll also miss Lukas, comforting Jesse further._

_Jesse watched the Sun rise as his friends chattered. Morning was coming, the sky’s colors were growing, and Jesse was drained. They were all going to be horribly busy these upcoming months. _

_Jesse couldn’t wait to go to bed._

_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ _

_The group was still getting used to Lukas’ absence throughout the past few weeks, Aiden being the worst of the bunch. Every afternoon he’d ask “Lukas still sleeping?”, or before they’d head out he’d run towards the stairs to make sure Lukas wouldn’t be left behind, only for one of his friends to correct him, or for Aiden to stop himself and do the walk of shame when he’d remember what had happened. Cassie would sometimes poke fun at him; Jesse was guilty of making little comments as well._

_Stella was used to waking up early and meeting Lukas, the only other member of the group who also had a decent sleep schedule, at the kitchen where they’d ramble about whatever or planned the schedule for the day._

_Olivia enjoyed his company whenever she’d work on any of her inventions, Gill missed his presence when he’d attend Hadrian and Mevia’s lessons--Lukas used what he learned as inspiration for his stories--and Maya missed the mid-morning training they’d do every couple of days to help improve his fighting. _

_Though they were all anticipating the day of his return, everyone was fine and continued their days as they normally would. Even Jesse._

_Everybody had been occupied with cleaning the debris, filling the giant cracks in the town’s streets, and repairing or entirely rebuilding citizens’ houses and stores. Compared to the other towns surrounding them, the damage here wasn’t too severe._

_Gill, Aiden, Maya, and sometimes Jesse would focus on the heavier workload while Stella, Radar, Cassie, and Olivia helped search for and craft the needed materials._

_Both Stella and Olivia were back home, finally taking a much needed late-lunch break. They had grabbed Gill’s premade sandwiches from the fridge and had finally sat down after a long day of running around. Stella was eating, listening to Olivia, who hadn’t touched her food yet._

_“...Then I saw the obsidian had been broken into big pieces, meaning we could find a way to put them back together instead of going through the hassle of wasting materials to create new obsidian--” She took a swig from her cup of water before continuing, “But Radar pointed out we had nothing strong enough to keep the pieces in place. I suggested slime, but with all the weight that’d be put on top of them, I’m not sure how long they’d last.”_

_She quickly adjusted her green, aviator hat before putting her hands on her head to take a breather. _

_“Sorry, I’m rambling.” Olivia said through quick breaths._

_Stella swallowed her food, “Don’t be!” _

_She set her sandwich aside, “You know, when I help prepare The Impossible Festival, we create this weird, glue-like… Substance with slime.” Her face scrunched when recalling it’s sticky texture, “We use it to keep any heavy structures in place. It’s a bit of a hassle to make, but it is tremendous! Resistant against water, handles extreme pressure, I can show you how to make it.”_

_Olivia perked up, “Really?”_

_Stella was about to add on when the front door suddenly swung open. In came Aiden and Jesse who brought only chaos along with them. Aiden was walking backwards, a smirk on his face with an envelope he held high into the air while Jesse kept reaching and jumping for it. _

_“Finders keepers.” Aiden said as he watched Jesse attempt to nab the letter once again._

_“You wouldn’t have known about the letter if I hadn’t reminded you to check the mailbox!” Jesse grunted._

_“I still saw it first.” _

_Stella spun on her barstool to face the commotion, “What are you two bickering about this time?”_

_Aiden waved the envelope while fending off Jesse, “Letter from Lukas!”_

_Both of the girls’ faces lit up._

_“Gill, Aiden’s distracted, get him!” Jesse shouted at the wide open door._

_“Wha--” Before Aiden had the chance to react, Gill came charging into the house and tackled Aiden to the floor. The letter flew out of Aiden’s grasp and the two crashed into the wall. Gill spotted the floating letter and quickly nabbed it._

_“Got it!” Gill beamed, holding it high and proud. He could hear Jesse’s quiet “Yes!”_

_Cassie Rose and Maya walked into the house and beheld the scene before them._

_Cassie saw Aiden groaning on the floor with Gill still on top of him._

_“Is he dead?” Cassie asked without batting an eye._

_“No. Just crushed.” Aiden replied._

_Maya looked at Stella and Olivia, “They tell you about the letter?”_

_“Sloppily, but yes.” Olivia answered happily, yoinking the letter from Gill’s hands. She nor Stella no longer trusted either of the boys with the paper in their grasp. On the front she saw the neat, right-leaning handwriting that belonged to the one and only Lukas._

_She opened the envelope, carefully pulled out the letter, and unfolded it._

_She read the contents aloud, “Hello everyone, I hope you guys are doing well! North Wind City has been wonderful so far, the people here have kept a pretty positive attitude while working, and they surprisingly recognized me the moment I walked in! They wanted me to tell you they’re thankful for our bravery against The Awakening, they truly are grateful. I haven’t been able to write as much, a majority of this city is in absolute ruins, I’ve only been able to take breaks at a small cafe. It’s okay compared to the Coal Cafe. I’ve been working hard these last several days, and I know you guys have been as well. Don’t overwork yourselves! Can’t wait to see you guys again!”_

_Olivia’s eyes would go over the letter again and again, it was refreshing to see his written voice. _

_“Glad to know North Wind is being kind to him.” said Stella, who was reading over Olivia’s shoulder. The others nodded and chatted about the letter’s contents._

_“Who wouldn’t be?” Asked Gill as he helped Aiden up.  
Gill turned to the girls, “Can I write the letter back, please? I promised him!”_

_“You don’t have to ask for permission, silly. Make sure to proofread!” Stella reminded him._

_“Right!” Gill turned to Jesse, “Jesse, yer gonna be m’proofreader!” _

_“Oh, oka--” Before Jesse could finish his sentence, Gill had already ran up the stairs, happily cheering how he was going to tell Lukas everything. Jesse chased after him._

_Cassie Rose followed behind, “Tell him about how Stella burnt the pasta last night!”_

_Stella jumped and ran after the trio, “Do NOT tell him about how Stella burnt the pasta!” _

_After Stella disappeared, loud crashing and thrashing could be heard from the second floor, causing Olivia to cringe. The noise went on for another second before the house fell deathly quiet._

_“Welp,” Aiden started walking to the stairs, “Better go make sure they aren’t dead.”_

_“Sounds good to me.” Said Maya, following behind._

_Olivia chuckled and joined them._

_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ _

_Jesse sat on one of the couches in the living room, body spread out over the cushions, trying to get as comfortable as possible. His legs were sore, no--his legs and arms were sore--actually, everything was sore. The last couple of months had been exhausting. Him and the others had finally finished filling in the cracks of the town, meaning they could walk on the streets and repair any buildings on the road safely. Most of the houses were as good as new and the town was getting more lively each night. Exhausting or not, it was rewarding to see the progress._

_Jesse promised to help Radar move the heavy items with Aiden and Maya, but that wasn’t until the early day. His friends were still out working, but Jesse wanted to rest. Just for a little bit._

_He heard footsteps coming from behind. He didn’t have enough energy to turn his head, so he laid it on the back of the couch to get an upside view of who was approaching._

_It was Gill. He was holding a letter._

_“S’okay if I sit?” Gill tilted his head. Jesse gave him a nod and scooted his body over, giving Gill room._

_He sat beside Jesse, looked at the letter, then back to Jesse._

_“I was bout to send this off but…” Gill stared at what he had written, “I was wonderin’ if you wanted to add anythin’?”_

_Lukas had been sending letters at an inconsistent rate throughout the months; one week they’d receive two letters, then the next two weeks they wouldn’t get a thing. Luckily, his letters had been nothing but positive. Jesse and the others understood he was busy helping a city, so writing wouldn’t be his top priority.  
The group would take turns writing to Lukas so no one would fight. This time it was Gill’s turn._

_“Hm…” Jesse thought for a moment, recalling what Lukas had written. He mainly remembered Lukas talking about the apartment he was temporarily living in, how there was a small balcony, and how he could see the thick, vibrant forest--reminding him of their trips to Petra’s--whenever he looked out._

_“Tell him I hope he’s been able to get some writing in.” He said with a weak smile._

_Gill blinked a couple of times, studying Jesse’s expression, “Ya miss him?”_

_“Ah,” Jesse waved his hand, “It’s alright.”_

_They both sat silently for a few seconds._

_“I miss him too.” Gill said, “But hey--Maybe we could visit him. Surprise visit!”_

_“Oh, no. No, it’s okay.” Jesse let out a chuckle, “Thanks though.”_

_If they did want to walk to North Wind City, they’d have to travel by foot, as neither of them had horses to rely on. Horses were difficult to find and extremely expensive if you happened to run into someone who sold them. The only reason Lukas got a horse for his travels was because a woman in Obsidian Town lent it to him for saving the town. Jesse appreciated the thought, however._

_Gill got off the couch and approached the shelves along the living room’s wall. He reached for a small, wooden basket filled with envelopes, stamps, and pens._

_As he finished writing the letter, he turned to Jesse, “Maya ‘n I are gonna train tomorrow, ya wanna join? Stella’ll be there too.”_

_Jesse’s body was telling him ‘No’. He was already aching enough, he’d have to wake up early, get all sweaty, feel even more sore… But honestly? Jesse didn’t care. He’d love to do something with his friends that didn’t require manual labor for once._

_Jesse gave Gill a grin, “Sounds good to me.” _

_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ _

_The town was nearly finished, the workload was getting smaller and smaller, everything was beginning to feel normal once again._

_Everyone was mostly lounging around in the living room or kitchen, they had finished dinner and were talking about their day or what they had planned for tomorrow. _

_Olivia was sharing the couch with Jesse, who sat stiffly with his hands in his lap._

_“...Then Maya said ‘Alright, if you say so.’ And handed Radar the block of cement and he collapsed--!” Olivia told Jesse through laughter._

_“It was pretty funny.” Maya grinned as she finished washing the remainder of the dishes. _

_Olivia wiped a tear away, “Oh, you should’ve seen his poor face.”  
Olivia’s smile faded when she noticed the lack of reaction from her friend. Jesse was always the one to crack up at the little things, but his lips were pressed together and his eyes were focused elsewhere._

_“Are you alright?” She asked._

_He glanced at her worried expression before shifting away, “... Lukas hasn’t written back in a while.” _

_It's been a few months. _

_“I’m just--” Jesse gripped the fabric of his pants, “It’s stupid, but I’ve been afraid. What if he’s forgotten about us? Or found other people? What if something terrible happened to him?”_

_She scooted closer to him, “Oh, Jesse--” _

_“I know it’s dumb, I know he can handle himself, but--”_

_“No, I understand.” She breathed in, “I feel the same way.”_

_“I think we all feel that way.” Stella chimed in, approaching the two and leaning against the back of the couch. “It’s a normal feeling to have. Granted, it’s an awful feeling, but it’s normal.”_

_“Yeah, it sucks, but this is **Lukas** we’re talking about. He’s not gonna forget us.” Added Cassie Rose, who was slumped in the arm chair._

_“Exactly!” Spoke Gill. He slid over to Jesse and Olivia._

_“D’ya really think he’d forget his own friends? Or the guy he had to help who got stabbed in the arm multiple times?” Gill asked, pointing at himself with a big smile on his face. Jesse found himself chuckling to Gill’s addition. _

_How weird was this. Everyone in this room wanted Lukas back, they wanted to be whole again, they should feel miserable. But they didn’t. Instead, Jesse felt a smile form and remain. He wasn’t the only one feeling this way. It was normal. It’s okay._

_“He’s helping a pretty large city, that sorta thing doesn’t take a few months. He’s probably caught up on the work and too exhausted to write anything. Stuff happens, you know?” Said Aiden; he was sitting at the bar with Maya, who nodded along._

_Jesse had been telling himself the same thing for the last couple of weeks and was beginning to second guess his own thoughts, but hearing them aloud by Aiden was the reassurance he needed._

_Suddenly, there was knocking at their door._

_Aiden pushed himself off the barstool and made his way to the door.  
“Did Radar say he was stopping by?” He asked Maya. _

_Maya thought to herself for a moment, trying to recall if Radar had ever mentioned visiting. “Don’t think so?”_

_Aiden opened the door and was surprised to see one of the guards of Obsidian Town. He stood tall, wearing his ash-colored armor with pride. Most of his skin had been covered by his uniform, his hair hidden underneath his hat, gloves hiding his hands, leaving only his tan face and neck visible. _

_“Mornin’. Everything okay?” Aiden asked._

_The guard nodded and reached into his pocket, “A letter from North Wind City.”_

_He handed Aiden the letter._

_“Alright, thanks.” Aiden said as he held the letter firmly. The guard nodded, told Aiden to have a good day, then left._

_Aiden closed the door and took a look at the envelope while the others watched him. It was completely blank. No sender’s address, no stamp, nothing. _

_“Did Lukas finally write us back?” Asked Rose, trying to get into a comfortable position._

_Aiden opened the letter, “I’m… Not sure?”  
The handwriting was small and tidy. Aiden began reading._

_“To the friends of Lukas, it seems the unthinkable has happened to us during our time of recovery. Over the last few days, Lukas has not been seen outside, many people claimed he went to his apartment and hadn’t come out. We had sent guards to check on him, only to find he had disappeared without a trace. No one is certain what had happened to him, nor where he might’ve gone to, but a search party has formed and is hard at work. We would appreciate any and all help, we truly need it.” _

_No one reacted. No one emoted. They couldn’t. It was as if everyone’s mind was unable to process what they’ve been told, and had shut down completely._

_Aiden kept skimming the letter over and over again, making sure he had truly read everything correctly, hoping he had skipped over the section where it said ‘False alarm!’, and it was just a stupid joke to scare them. But the more he kept reading, the bigger the pit in his stomach grew. He held the letter tightly, crinkling it._

_“Lukas is missing?” Jesse asked quietly, breaking the silence. _

_The others were still rigid and wide eyed._

_“That… Can’t be right.” Said Stella slowly. She walked over to Aiden, who handed her the letter. She scanned it thoroughly. Aiden hadn’t skipped a word, this was real. The realization shot through her like an arrow, her hands trembled and she blinked back tears._

_Her head darted around the room, seeing everyone’s increasingly worried and fearful expressions was making her heart race. She could hardly swallow. _

_She put her free hand on her hair, tugging on strands as she read through the letter again. _

_“We don’t know what day he went missing,” Stella began, “Nor who he last interacted with--”_

_“This has to be The Awakening!” Jesse said with a loud, wavering voice. He got off the couch and ran to Stella and Aiden to see the letter as well._

_“We can’t point fingers at them yet!” Olivia started, “With so many newly formed ravines, along with the quakes, maybe he…”  
She was no longer on board with where her train of thought was going, “... Fell in?” _

_“Fell in, kidnapped, lost--Whatever!” Cassie leapt off the chair, “We gotta do something!”_

_“She’s right.” Maya nodded, “We’re not gonna find him by freaking out. What’s the plan?”_

_“We’re gonna find him.” Gill answered without hesitation, “We will find him.”_

_‘Lukas’ disappearance was recent.’ Jesse thought to himself, holding onto the letter. ‘If we start searching now, we’d have a higher chance of finding him sooner.”_

_Stella could no longer remain still, she darted to the stairs. Her quick footsteps could be heard from the second floor, followed by a door opening._

_“Some of us should go to North Wind while the rest try to see if Lukas had mentioned anything weird in his letters.” Aiden said, “Maybe a weird person, a strange place, anything!”_

_“What could we do at North Wind?” Cassie questioned, “They said he disappeared without a trace!”_

_“No one just… Disappears out of thin air.” Maya said._

_“Exactly.” Aiden made his way to the chests against the living room wall, “There’s gotta be something in his apartment, or any of the places he’s been to that’ll help.” _

_He took out a diamond sword, “We’ll ask anyone who looks suspicious, and if they act up? I won’t hesitate giving them a piece of my mind.”_

_“Sounds like a plan to me.” Maya cracked her knuckles._

_“Who’s going to go to North Wind?” Asked Olivia, “You can’t go by yourself, Aiden. Lukas might’ve been--I’m not saying he was, but--he might’ve been targeted because he was alone. I don’t want anything bad happening to you.”_

_“He’s not gonna be alone.” Maya stood beside him, “I’m going with him.”_

_“I’m comin’ too!” Gill added, “The more th’ merrier!”_

_Cassie Rose got out of her seat, “Same here. I’ll bring my axes, might come in handy.”_

_“What can I do?” Jesse asked everyone.  
“Do you need an extra set of hands?” He asked Aiden and the others, “Or--or could I--”_

_“Actually,” Olivia began, “Would you be willing to help me analyze the letters Lukas has sent us? I could use the extra set of eyes.”_

_“Of course!” Jesse said, ready to do anything and everything to help out._

_Stella ran down the stairs, holding onto a thin, blue folder with. _

_“I’m back!” She sputtered, almost dropping the folder.  
She quickly opened it, revealing a group photo, and pointed at the smiling Lukas in it._

_“I’m going to make missing posters with Radar, this is the best quality photo we have of him!” She ran to the door, “We’ll make a bunch of copies to hand out and tape everywhere!” She explained in one breath and slammed the door behind her._

_Everyone watched Stella rush through the streets, when they could no longer see her, they continued talking._

_“I’d recommend heading off tomorrow.” Olivia suggested, “You’d be energized and have enough time to prepare. Plus I think Stella would want you to take some posters along.”_

_“It’s going to be a long walk.” Jesse mentioned, giving the four a worried look._

_Maya lifted her head up, “It’s alright, we’ve walked longer.”_

_“Nothing we can’t handle.” Aiden assured him._

_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ _

_Of course when everything was finally calming down, when lives were returning to normal, when everyone could finally be at ease, the universe snatched the hope and happiness of the group and dangled it on a stick, taking great pleasure in watching them struggle._

_Yes, reconstruction of his hometown was tiresome and--at times--painful, but at least Jesse was able to rest. These past few days, however? He didn’t sleep. He couldn’t sleep. No one did. Aiden, Maya, Gill, and Cassie went to North Wind first thing in the afternoon, packing the essentials along with Stella handing them the missing posters, telling them to please write to her the minute they reached the city. The four only took a break once they had finally reached their destination to prepare themselves for the long days ahead._

_Before Olivia and Jesse could begin studying the letters, they had to inform the town of their friend’s--and one of the town’s hero’s--disappearance. They were prepared for the people’s panics and had assured them they were already hard at work searching, but any help would be wonderful. Whenever a citizen would see Jesse, Olivia, or Stella, they’d give them their sympathy and tell them they hoped for the best. And though Radar was also friends with Lukas, he wasn’t as close to him as the others were, and not too many people knew of their relationship. Not that Radar mind, he was too busy helping the trio. _

_When Aiden, Maya, Gill, and Cassie Rose began their investigation in North Wind City, they were overwhelmed with how much bigger everything was. All apartment complexes were the same shade of tawny brown, only their light blue windows prevented them from merging all together, the brick roads--the worn down clashing with the newly filled gaps--were so wide they managed to balance out the enormous, surrounding, brown buildings. Towering, almost intimidating windmills could be seen everywhere, some breaking the clouds, and had propellers moving slowly and steadily. The population was also huge, large groups of people were everywhere, which could make searching for clues easier or harder. _

_The four first went to find Lukas’ apartment, which they were able to find thanks to Maya remembering the address, and were allowed inside. Most places were closing--or had closed--since it was early morning, so they decided to see what the apartment had to offer as they waited for a new night to come. To their surprise, the place looked untouched. No signs of a fight, struggle, nothing. In fact, the room looked tidy in typical Lukas-fashion. The bed was made, the kitchen was cleaned and organized, papers were in neat stacks on a small, dark brown table in the middle of the living room._

_Gill sat on the brown couch and carefully looked through the papers, discovering some were unfinished letters for them. Him, Maya, and Cassie skimmed through them, hoping to find anything to point them to the right direction, but they all contained the usual updates of his life. _

_Gill looked around the room, “I don’ see his goggles anywhere.”_

_The others stopped what they were doing and scanned the apartment. He was right. Lukas had always kept his goggles on his head, around his neck, or in the pockets of his jacket. If he wasn’t wearing them, he’d place them within reach--or at least somewhere easy to find--so he could grab them and go. _

_“He could’ve gone missing while he was on his way home. Or when he was leaving it.” Maya suggested. _

_Cassie put her hand on her head, “This place is huge, he could be anywhere!”_

_“Exactly!” Gill agreed, though his tone was optimistic. “It IS huge, someone had to have seen ‘im!”_

_Gill turned his head to the window, peering into the blue-skied world, “I bet it’s real hard to do somethin’ here without someone seein’ ya.” _

_“Yeah, you’re right.” Aiden folded his arms. He took out the letter informing them of Lukas’ disappearance--which he had slipped back into it’s blank envelope--and said they should find out who had sent it first thing tomorrow. Everyone agreed._

_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ _

_“I just remembered I promised to write Stella a letter once we reached North Wind.” Aiden said, his head drooped as he rested against the rails of Lukas’ small balcony. _

_“That would’ve been good to know a month ago.” Maya said, watching the sun rise past the thick forest. _

_“I’m sorry, I--”_

_“Don’t be. We’re all stressed. Stuff slips the mind.” She assured him. She was usually the one to remind Aiden of information, but had completely forgotten about writing the letter as well. The only thing on her mind the second she left Obsidian town and the second she stepped foot in North Wind was “Find Lukas”. _

_“She probably thinks we’re dead now.” The two heard Cassie comment. She was resting on the couch with Gill, who had fallen asleep. They’ve been running around this monstrous city for nearly two months, they have hardly gotten any time to rest._

_It was difficult to decide whether or not they’ve progressed during their time here. They found out the blank envelope had been sent by the mayor of North Wind herself, Isa, who explained when upon hearing the news, she frantically wrote the letter and requested one of her guards to send it to their town immediately. She was so focused on alerting Aiden and the others that she had completely forgotten about putting her own address, a stamp, and the other insignificant details._

_They visited the places Lukas would talk about often, the city’s cafe, it’s library, the park, and spoke to the people who worked there as they hung up missing posters. They asked the people if Lukas acted out of character, and they all said he was being his usual, cheerful self. They asked if anyone suspicious had been near or following him, no one could recall any figures near Lukas. The people who were a part of the city’s reconstruction group--along with the guards--had said nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and they hadn’t spotted any odd character. _

_The four were ready to turn in for the day, but Gill was set on wanting to talk to a small group of people who were hanging around a construction site. While the others were tired, they knew Gill would be told what they’ve already heard a million times, so it’d only be a few minute wait. When Gill returned, he looked excited. The group of people had worked with Lukas multiple times on the far west end of town, and had shown Lukas a ‘scenic route’ through the west gate that led back to his apartment. It was through the forest which Lukas’ balcony looked over. One man said he would see Lukas occasionally walk this path from the window of his room, and suggested something might’ve happened to him there._

_When they had entered the forest, they were disheartened to see almost nothing. Sure, the forest was peaceful compared to the city’s ruckus, the earthy and subtle floral scent was nice, the plants were colorful, but there were no signs of anything happening here. No scraps of clothes or a broken weapon in sight. The only thing they did find was a large, gaping ravine who’s bottom could not be seen. Olivia’s words rang through their heads, “Maybe he fell in.”_

_Aiden volunteered to explore the ravine tomorrow, and he was either going to find nothing, or the corpse of one of his closest friends._

_For once, throughout this entire mess, Cassie Rose was hoping they’d find nothing. The thought of Lukas’ limp body plagued her mind, it was an idea she didn’t want to become reality._

_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ _

_Stella and Radar had hung the posters around town, while Jesse and Olivia had read and reread every letter Lukas had sent. None of them had even a tiny sliver of anything that could be labeled ‘suspicious’. They only talked about the city, his life, and how much he missed them. _

_Mevia and Hadrian had been of tremendous help. When hearing of Lukas’ disappearance, they pulled out a number of old maps which showed the locations of ancient, forgotten shrines of The Awakening’s built around both Obsidian Town and North Wind. They suggested the group should explore the abandoned shrines to see if The Awakening had retreated to any of them. Jesse was on board, ready to put himself at risk if it meant finding Lukas faster, but Stella, Olivia, and Radar refused. If they did find The Awakening, they’d have to go against the hundreds of members, not to mention a number of the shrines were hazardous and falling apart._

_Radar wanted to make himself as useful as possible. When the three would rest, he’d continue to question citizens, guards, and anyone who they hadn’t spoken to yet. He’d use what knowledge he had of The Awakening to help create theories as to what they could’ve done, or what might’ve happened to Lukas._

_As they continued their work, Aiden and the others finally wrote back. They had saved Stella from a heart attack, but had only brought bad news. No luck. The only positive was Gill, who managed to keep the spirits of his friends high during their time in the city. They had found Lukas’ horse--unharmed--as well, and were going to return it to the lady. As for Lukas himself, they’ve searched North Wind, the horrid ravines surrounding it, and they’ve found nothing. No body, no signs of his presence, it was truly as if he had disappeared from thin air. _

_In the letter, Aiden said they were planning on returning home in--roughly--a week. By then, it’d mark four months of them losing Lukas. What a horrible pill to swallow. _

_Olivia, as much as she didn’t want to, suggested they needed to take a break once the others came back. Even if it only lasted a week, they needed time to think. Maybe an idea would pop into their heads, maybe someone will spot Lukas, who knows. But they were all deteriorating. Their sleep had been butchered, their diets ruined, and the stress was ripping them limb from limb._

_They weren’t progressing. Obsidian town offered nothing, North Wind offered nothing, what else could they possibly do?_

_Jesse didn’t want to rest. He wanted to keep looking. He wanted to. He really wanted to. _

_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ _

_The week-long break lasted a month, everyone was more worn out than they realized. The break was needed, but everything felt forced. Their conversations, their moments of lounging around, everything felt unnatural. How could you live out a normal day with your friend’s missing poster plastered everywhere? Knowing he could still be saved, that he could still be out there, lost, hurt, confused. Knowing he might be dead._

_Everyone was weighed down with these thoughts and feelings, while Aiden and Jesse were being crushed by them. They couldn’t put their minds to rest, their bodies couldn’t take remaining in one place with Lukas still out there. Their friends understood their anger and eagerness all too well, and had barely convinced the two to rest._

_The end of the month was nearing, Radar was visiting the group, and they had finished dinner not too long ago. Aiden, Jesse, and Gill were having a conversation in the kitchen about what their next plan was, while the girls--and Radar--were upstairs in their rooms, rambling about whatever._

_Suddenly, there was knocking at the door. Three, heavy, slow knocks._

_The boys stared at the door for a moment, unsure if they truly wanted to open it._

_“... Guess I’ll get it?” Jesse said quietly, getting off the barstool and approaching the door. He peered through the doorhole and saw no one. _

_He opened the door and looked around, seeing no signs of whoever had knocked. _

_His eyes fell to the stairs of the front door and he froze. Reality began to unravel, this wasn’t real. This wasn’t real. It wasn’t._

_He crouched down to look at Lukas’ goggles who sat atop his journal. Jesse had almost convinced himself he was seeing things, that his brain was so desperate for anything it had resorted to making hopeful hallucinations._

_Jesse was afraid to touch them. What if they broke? What if they disappeared? _

_He carefully reached one hand out and let his finger barely touch the lens of the goggles. It was real. It was Lukas’. _

_He warily picked up the goggles and held them close, seeing his reflection in the tinted lens. The strap was damp._

_“Jesse, who’s--” Aiden stopped in his tracks and saw what his friend was craddeling. Aiden couldn’t say anything, all he did was stare. He kept staring and staring, his hand curled into a fist and he punched the wall, shaking the house. _

_It had been nearly a year. Almost an entire, damn year of nothing, yet someone too vile to be considered human had left these at their steps to take pleasure in their misery and failures._

_Gill had run upstairs to tell the others what appeared as the two remained in place. They knew who was at fault. There was no question about it now._

_When the rest of the group came downstairs, everyone had to see the items for themselves. Olivia was reading the last pages of his journal, hoping to find any bit of information as the others discussed what could’ve happened. _

_“I already know what happened.” Aiden growled, “We all do.” _

_“It was The Awakening!” Jesse exclaimed, he was fuming. “We’ve looked through our town and the city, we’ve asked everyone, we can’t keep avoiding what’s in front of our faces!”_

_“Yes, but--” Olivia started but was immediately cut off by Jesse._

_“But WHAT? How can you say ‘but’?! Our friend’s been taken and we’ve done nothing--”_

_“What if you’re wrong.” Maya said sternly. Her arms were crossed._

_“It’s not that we believe The Awakening is innocent,” Olivia kept her eyes on the journal’s pages to avoid her friends’ hurt expressions, “it’s that we don’t have enough evidence.”_

_“Enough evidence?!” Aiden repeated, his voice was rising._

_“This--!” He grabbed the goggles from Jesse’s grasp, “Is enough evidence! They obviously did something to him!”_

_Jesse continued ranting, “Lukas was far away from the rest of us, none of us were with him, why WOULDN’T The Awakening take advantage of one of us finally being alone?! We need to--”_

_“We need to think about this realistically.” said Olivia, hugging the journal. “Let’s say you do find The Awakening… What’ll you do if you find out they never took Lukas? You’ll be outnumbered, in danger, and you’d spark more conflict.”_

_“Then we’ll do what we did last time!” Jesse answered, “Fight them!”  
Aiden nodded once._

_“The two of you against the hundreds of cult members?” Maya tilted her head._

_“Don’t mean to interrupt,” Cassie cut in, “but does anyone else find it weird the minute **Radar** joined our group, Lukas went missing?”_

_Radar jumped, his pupils shrunk, “I beg your pardon?!”_

_“What are you getting at, Cass?” Maya asked, leaning towards the red head, her brow creasing._

_“Maybe we’ve been set up from the start!” She shot at both Maya and Radar._

_An argument erupted. Everyone was shouting at one another, talking over each other, the yelling getting louder and louder._

_Stella’s shouting at Aiden had thankfully been voluminous enough to silence the entire room, “We are NOT hunting down The Awakening! That is FINAL.”_

_“So we’re gonna give up!?” Aiden yelled. Jesse brought himself closer to Aiden’s side, equally enraged._

_“We’re not--! I never sai--”_

_“Whatever.” Aiden stormed off to his room, Jesse followed. The door slammed and shook the house. _

_Everyone stood still, silent and miserable._

_Gill finally looked at his friends,  
“Is there really nothin’ we can do?” He asked quietly._

_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ _

_After the fight from a few days ago, along with receiving what remained of Lukas, everyone had been staying in their rooms, distancing themselves from one another. They were only together when they ate dinner, but even then they hardly spoke to each other._

_Aiden, Jesse, and Gill had been absent, neither of them had been seen in the house or their rooms. The girls didn’t comment on their vanishment, they assumed the three of them wanted time away._

_On the third day, when everyone was awake and eating whatever they found for breakfast, Olivia spoke up._

_“We can’t keep quiet forever, guys.” She mumbled, “This isn’t going to bring Lukas back.” _

_Just like her last attempts at conversing, she was met with nothing. She looked around to see all her friends, Cassie, Maya, Stella, facing away from each other, staring at the floor, and remaining silent. Olivia went back to her breakfast, all she could eat was a small bowl of fruit, but it tasted sour. Her stomach was sour. The room was sour. _

_She rested her head on the kitchen table and pushed the bowl away. Olivia saw the bowl tremble and let out a groan. A quake. Perfect. Just what they needed._

_They all held onto whatever they were close to. The house shook, the dishes chattered, the ground let out a low rumble before everything settled down again. _

_Everything went quiet for another minute. _

_Maya inhaled, tossed her empty plate onto the counter, and walked over to the table. She pulled out a chair and sat next to Olivia. _

_“This sucks.” Maya slouched and rested her head on her hand. Olivia peered over at her friend._

_“Things were finally getting better.” Maya let out a tired sigh. Bags hung under her eyes and tear streaks stained her face._

_Someone was finally talking, but Olivia didn’t know what to say. She inched her hand closer to Maya’s, and offered to hold it. Maya stared at the hand for a moment before grabbing and holding it carefully. Olivia’s hand was much smaller than her’s, but it didn’t make any difference. She needed this. They needed this._

_“Yea… Yeah. Everything’s just falling apart all over again.” Cassie Rose added with a cracking voice. She struggled to keep her face together._

_“We can’t find Lukas,” She sat on the table and pushed up her glasses, drying her eyes with her sleeve before tears formed, “I--I said a bunch of dumb stuff. And I’m--I’m sorry, you know? I feel awful. About everything.” _

_“It’s a normal feeling.” Said Stella, who had been staring into her cup of tea, only able to watch it get cold. _

_She turned to her friends, her eyes were puffy and tears were still running down her face, yet her expression appeared content. She wore a sad, small smile._

_“And it’s an awful feeling.” She left the counter and sat across from Olivia._

_Once again, the room became quiet. But this silence was comforting compared to what had overtaken the room before._

_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ _

_Gill bursted through the doors only an hour later. He was frantic, sweating, eyes darting everywhere, looking for any sign of his friends._

_Olivia ran downstairs and gasped, she was about to ask him where he had been, and where Aiden and Jesse were, but Gill couldn’t wait another second._

_“Aiden’s hurt!” He blurted. _

_Olivia froze, “Wha--”_

_“We were--We went to some shrines, I know ya said not too but Aiden ‘n Jesse wanted to go, ‘n--! The quake happened, part of th’ceiling fell apart, landed on his arm, ‘n he was bleedin’--Come on!” Gill ran out the door._

_Cassie, Maya, and Stella had heard the commotion, Olivia didn’t have time to explain but she quickly told them the boys needed help. The three rushed after Gill, following him past the town’s entrance and to the start of the northwest forest’s trail. Through the trees they could make out a sluggish Aiden, who was refusing any of Jesse’s assistance._

_They got Aiden home; he had a bloody, gaping gash on his right arm. The three of them had been searching through a number of old shrines without resting in hopes of finding either their friend or the cult. Originally, only Jesse and Aiden were going to explore the shrines, but the two of them managed to convince Gill they needed his strength while exploring. They felt awful for dragging him into the mess, but if he hadn’t joined, he wouldn’t have been there to push the rubble off of Aiden’s arm. It could’ve gotten uglier._

_When they got to the house, Aiden and Jesse were expecting the usual teasing from Rose about their mess ups and bad planning, or Stella’s criticism for being so careless, but they received nothing._

_Rose was tending Aiden’s wound as he sat on her bed. Everyone one else was in the room too, listening to Jesse explain what had happened over the past few days._

_“Why’d you go to the shrines?” Rose asked Aiden with a flat tone as she was wrapping a bandage around his arm. _

_Aiden thought it was obvious, but he answered anyway.  
“Wanted to find Lukas.” _

_She glanced at his face then back to the wound, “You got hurt anywhere else?”_

_Aiden let out a groan, “Who cares about me, we--”_

_“**I** care.” Rose growled as she tightened the bandage, causing Aiden to wince. “We **all** care.”_

_She breathed in and continued wrapping the wound. Aiden turned his head slightly to look elsewhere._

_Jesse was sitting on the window ledge, surrounded by his other friends._

_“Sorry we ran off.” He apologized again, he pressed himself against the glass. _

_“Just glad you’re in one piece.” Maya replied with her hands shoved into her pockets._

_“Yeah, we already lost Lukas.” Olivia sat beside Jesse, “We don’t want to lose anyone else.” _

_“Ah,” Jesse said tiredly, “We’ll find him, won’t we?”_

_He glanced at his friends faces, all tainted with tear streaks and tired, defeated eyes. _

_Jesse landed on his last hope, Gill, for reassurance, but all he received was a pair of sad, scared eyes._

_“Lukas is gone.” Gill croaked._

_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ _

_It felt like the world had played a cruel joke on the day of Lukas’ memorial service. The skies were blue, clouds decorated the skies, there was a light breeze, it was the sort of day Lukas would stay up for, claiming the morning was too beautiful to sleep through, and it’d be a crime not to write._

_It felt wrong to mourn for somebody they’ve yet to--and never will--find. _

_Jesse, Olivia, Aiden, Gill, Maya, Cassie Rose, and Stella all stood before the small memorial they had built together for their friend. A blackstone, squared base with three, thin, polished andesite columns on the front and back, with two columns on each side, and a top made of smooth, stone slabs. Lukas’ picture hung from the middle of the front-center column, surrounded by hundreds of flowers and candles._

_They had expected many citizens of their town to attend, but were surprised to see people from other cities--including North Wind--to appear. People came to pay their respects, to thank him, to sympathize, and to apologize. Everyone listened to the eulogy delivered by Stella, who had to pause a couple of times thanks to her cracking voice, while the rest of Lukas’ friends shared stories and fond memories, or had only enough strength to say they’ll miss him._

_No one was sure how long the service had lasted; their sadness had made it feel like an eternity, yet it somehow felt too short to do Lukas justice._

_The crowd began to dwindle as the sun lowered. Cassie, Olivia, Gill, Stella, and Maya had gone home to finally sleep, leaving only Aiden and Jesse by themselves._

_Jesse kept staring at the memorial, he kept taking sharp, quick breaths, sounding as if he were about to cry again, but he could no longer produce any more tears even if he wanted to. He was exhausted, his legs were sore from standing, he had held his hands together tightly for so long they were numb, yet he refused to leave. _

_Jesse felt Aiden’s arm wrap around and pull him close. Jesse had never been too fond of receiving hugs, Aiden was never fond of giving them, but for once, they did._

_They needed to._

_Aiden held him close.  
“The second The Awakening slips up…” He whispered through gritted teeth, “We’re gonna give them Hell.”_

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

“... Jesse stayed at the memorial for a while after I left. He needed time to be alone with Lukas.” Aiden finished. He leaned against the bookshelf and took a minute to rest.

Despite Lukas’ disappearance being one of the few moments in his life that had stuck with him, that had been ingrained into his brain and haunted him, he kept the few belongings to him out. He never wants to forget him. Never.

Jess was sitting on the chair by the cluttered desk, holding the poster in his hand. This was all surreal. Wrong. A piece of a terrible nightmare. It didn’t matter whether it was his Lukas or not, this was his missing poster. He was still gone. Pairing his familiar, smiling face with what he had heard caused a twisted, gut wrenching feeling.

“I’m…” Jess finally tore his eyes from the poster, “I’m sorry.”  
There was so much he wanted to say, but that was all he could say. Hearing the story was awful enough, he couldn’t begin to imagine what it was like to experience it.

“Don’t be.” Aiden walked over and held his hand out. Jess gave him the poster.  
“There’s nothing we can do about it now.” He lifted Lukas’ journal up and carefully slid the poster underneath. 

Aiden placed his hand on top of the journal and paused.  
He took a deep breath and turned to Jess, “We still need to find the rest of those items, right?” 

“Let’s get working on that.” He said, forcing a happy tone of voice with no smile to accompany it. 

Jess nodded. He pushed the chair in and followed Aiden out the room.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

_“Jesse stayed at the memorial for a while after I left.”_

_“Jesse stayed at the memorial for a while after I left.”_

_“Jesse stayed at the memorial for a while after I left.” _

_‘I need to go home.’ Jesse thought to himself, still standing in front of the memorial. It was like he had been rooted into the ground, he knew he should go back inside, yet his mind refused to let his body move._

_Standing here wasn’t going to revive Lukas, neither would tears and false hope. A part of him was praying he’d wake up tomorrow and see Lukas downstairs finishing his breakfast, or sitting outside of the house writing in his journal._

_But Jesse wouldn’t, and he never will._

_He’s gone._

_Jesse inhaled, preparing himself to finally step away, when he heard footsteps and an unfamiliar voice._

_“Hi, Jesse.” The voice was low and somewhat raspy._

_He turned and saw a woman approaching him. Her skin was ivory, her hair was wavy, blonde, and ended a bit past her shoulders. She wore a scarlet red shirt with an open, dark gray, two-buttoned jacket with pants the same color._

_Jesse had seen her before, she had given her condolences to him and his friends earlier at the service. She must’ve been an acquaintance of Lukas or the others._

_“Is… This a bad time?” She asked. Her blue eyes were soft._

_“No, not at all…”_

_“Nell.” Nell said. _

_Jesse nodded. Nell stood beside him. _

_She clasped her hands and remained quiet for a moment, “I know the service ended but… Something inside me told me to go back, you know?”_

_Nell stared at the memorial.  
“I’m so sorry, again. I wasn’t as close to him as you, but I knew he was a good person.” _

_Jesse mouthed the word ‘Yeah’, and pushed the hair out of his face. A lump was forming in his throat again, along with a strange, burning feeling in his stomach, but he remained in place. Though he couldn’t bring himself to talk, he was thankful for the sympathy._

_“I--” Nell closed her eyes and breathed in, “I know what it’s like to lose someone you love.” _

_Jesse peered at her from the corner of his eye._

_“It’s awful. It hurts, but… Jesse, I want to let you know you’re not alone.” She wrapped her arms around her body, hugging herself._

_Jesse lifted his head more as Nell continued._

_“I went to this support group and they really helped me through my darkest times.”_

_Something felt off. _

_“You’re lucky to have your friends with you, but… Would you give the group a chance? It’s a lot of people, but they’re mostly from here and… And they’re so understanding. Maybe you’d like it.” She gave Jesse a warm smile._

_Jesse couldn’t take her eyes off her as thousands of alarms blared through his head and clashed with his pounding heart. His stomach felt as if it were being torn to shreds, and he repressed the urge to run away or vomit._

_She didn’t have to use their name, Jesse knew what she was trying to do. He needs to go home, he needs to tell the others, they need to know. But maybe, just maybe, he would learn more of Lukas’ disappearance if he joined._


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter done baby!  
Hope you enjoy!!

Petra stared at the distant Obsidian Town from her bedroom’s window. Well, it wasn’t a ‘window’, rather one of the many big holes in her cave that led to the outside world. And her bedroom wasn’t really a ‘room’, but a small area Petra had hollowed out herself. Many people would never consider a cave to be ‘homey’, much less a place to sleep in, but anyplace with a bed in it was good enough for Petra. You’d be surprised how a few chests, lanterns, and furnaces could make a cold environment comfortable.

Obsidian Town stood quietly in the middle of the plain field, it’s dark border and watchtowers stood out from the green grass and the blue sky which was soon to fade into orange, then in mere hours, to black, when the night would truly start.

She considered sleeping for a couple of hours, shuteye would do her some good. She’s been awake for nearly two days exploring caves for ores and whatever she’d find in abandoned mineshafts. But oddly enough, she wasn’t exhausted. Far from it. Perhaps it was the risk of getting caught and jailed when sneaking into caves that gave her a rush of energy, or maybe it was the satisfaction she’d recieve when finding priceless items that’d push her to search for more. Whichever reason kept her awake didn’t matter, as long as she got something in the end, she was fine with her ruined sleep schedule.

‘Not like I can afford to sleep today anyways.’ Petra told herself. She sat at the ledge of the hole and let her feet dangle as she looked over the green world below her.  
‘Need to find some redstone and gold for… Whatever Aiden’s making.’ While she wasn’t certain what him and the others were going to use two of the hardest to find materials for, she could only assume they’d play a role in sending Jess and Olivia back home.

Petra had almost believed her sleep deprivation was finally catching up on her and spawned hallucinations of her past friends when she first saw them. Heck, she’s still processing seeing a live Olivia and a genuinely happy Jess for the first time in years.

She took a long, deep breath. Sitting here wasn’t going to help her find gold or redstone, she needs to get to work. Yes, she told Aiden it would take a week to find the materials, but he sounded serious, and who knows? Maybe she’ll luck out and find them sooner than expected.

She got up and stretched her back.  
‘Just gotta pack my pickaxe, actually remember to take some food along, and I should make extra torches--’ Her thoughts were interrupted by two slow, loud, familiar knocks. 

They sounded close. 

Petra already knew who it was, but cautiously turned her head until she saw the figure sitting on the chest at the end of her room from the corner of her eye. 

His eyes were rolled to the back of his head, the whites shined from the rays of the Sun, claiming Petra’s attention.

He suddenly got off the chest and began approaching her, his fists tightening. 

Petra zipped her head away, squeezed her eyes shut, and held her breath. 

The steps came closer and closer, then abruptly stopped. All she could hear now was his breathing.

Petra forced her stiff body to face Jesse with an empty grin, “How are ya?”

“Had better days.” Jesse answered. He loosened his body and rolled his eyes back into place, he blinked a few times.

She nodded and made her way to the chest Jesse sat on, her pickaxe was in there. She heard Jesse following behind as she knelt onto the cool, stone floor and held the top of the chest open to prevent it from slamming down on her fingers.

Jesse leaned against the cave’s wall, “You have the best reaction.” 

Petra pulled out her pickaxe and set it aside, “To your eyes?”  
She continued digging through the chest.

“Yeah.” A tiny but sincere smile appeared. 

“Well, I know how much it means to you.” Petra forced out a chuckle for him. She remembered the first time he greeted her with white eyes, he was oddly excited about doing so. He rambled about how it was a way to greet important people, and Petra was… Flattered. She thought the greeting was going to be a one time thing, but he’s been doing it ever since. She didn’t like it. She’d always get uncomfortable. Not like she’d ever tell Jesse.

“You don’t get all scared like everyone else. Or angry like Stella and Cassie...” Jesse said, recalling their expressions. Brenner had once told him he should only perform the action when appropriate, and Jesse understood that, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t do it whenever he encountered Aiden and the others just to spite them. 

“Or Radar!” Jesse added on.  
“He always starts shaking when I do it.” Jesse’s grin grew as he imagined how much more severe Radar’s reaction would’ve been had he given him the greeting earlier today.  
“Radar’s always…” Jesse was about to begin, but what little optimism was in his tone dwindled. 

“Oh no.” Petra raised her head, she recognized that tone. “What happened this time?”

Jesse slid his back against the wall. A scowl was growing.

“Tried to get Radar to talk.” Jesse hugged his knees and dug his face into his arms. “Didn’t work out.”

Petra’s hand dug aimlessly through the chest as she debated whether or not to let Jesse elaborate. Whatever he had bottled up was moments away from bursting, but she knew what would happen if he started another one of his rantings. 

Jesse glanced at Petra then continued, “I thought Brenner wanted to know what Aiden was doing. Radar was the first person I saw, so I was thinking I could be quick and get something out of him.”

Petra could only bob her head. She didn’t want to add anything, afraid her words would fuel the small fire in Jesse. He had talked about Brenner and Radar from time to time; hearing Jesse go off about Radar would remind Petra of Cassie Rose’s complaints. Neither of them were fond of the man. She's spoken to Radar before but only heard stories of Brenner, and after all Petra’s heard, she never wanted to meet him.

She tuned back into Jesse’s rambling, “...And I guess someone heard me and told them.”

Jesse threw his arms into the air, “Then they got all upset and scolded--” 

“They were mad cause you helped--?”

Jesse leapt over to the chest and slammed it shut without warning, giving Petra only seconds to pull her hand out. The skin of his fingers were torn and dirty.

“_Exactly!_” Jesse’s pupils shook as his grip on the chest tightened.

“It’s such a… Such a _stupid_ thing to get mad over. I got in trouble, didn’t get anything, Brenner got upset, and I didn’t mean to--!” Jesse hit the side of his head multiple times then pulled at his hair.

Be sympathetic. Be quick.

“I’m sorry.” Petra put on her best pair of caring eyes.

Jesse glared at her and finally exhaled, “Don’t.”  
He let go of his hair, “Don’t be. It’s okay” 

He rolled off the chest and stretched his arms high into the air, “I’ll probably stop by their house tonight and listen in. At least I won’t have a quitter getting me in trouble.”

Jesse began walking to the exit--another large hole which led to the rest of the cave--but stopped.

“Unless…” He turned the upper half of his body around, “Has Aiden or the others visited you recently?” 

“Nope.” Petra lied, “They’ve been real caught up on searching for you.” 

Jesse raised his brows, “Alright. I’ll see later?”

Petra put on a fake grin, “Same time, same place.” 

Another smirk appeared on Jesse’s face before he left. Petra remained in place as she listened to his footsteps grow fainter and fainter. In two days he’ll come back. In two days, he could be angry and vicious, silent and cold, or he could be fine. But she’ll never know until two days.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

“It took you that long to get a clipboard?” Maya asked Aiden, who had finally returned downstairs with Jess.

Aiden breathed in and threw his eyebrows up, “I completely forgot about the clipboard.”

“Alright.” Maya sighed as she hoisted herself off the barstool, “I’ll get it.”  
Aiden quickly apologized as Maya walked past them.

Aiden rubbed his eyes and debated whether or not to make another cup of coffee before he’d help the others plan on how to find the remaining items. He was still feeling groggy from having to wake up early, but his nose scrunched when thinking about actually drinking it. He hated the taste of coffee, but it was the only thing that kept him awake. He’d much rather inject the drink into him if he could.

“Aiden!” He heard Stella call. He saw her signaling both him and Jess to come into the living room where everyone else had gathered.

The two came over to see the iron and netherrack Petra gave them laying on the coffee table. Stella was standing beside the table, focusing on the items while Gill and Olivia were sitting on the couch.

“We still need to get the gold and redstone.” Stella said, tapping her chin.

“We forgot to ask about the flint too.” Cassie Rose added, sitting on the floor and observing what netherrack they had. The pieces were on the smaller side; they definitely couldn’t afford to waste them.

“Yes,” Stella agreed, “but flint’s easier to find. I’m worried about how soon we’ll find the other two. I don’t know if Olivia and Jesse--Jess could wait an entire week. We don’t want the wrong person seeing them.”

“If I may,” Olivia spoke, straightening her posture, “why don’t we mine the materials ourselves? Wouldn’t it be faster to have the seven of us mining rather than waiting a week for one person?”

“It would.” Stella gave her a worried smile, “But we don’t have a license to do so. Unless one of us has one?” 

Her eyes scanned the room, everyone shook their heads or shrugged. 

She breathed out and pushed the hair out of her eyes, “If we started mining all willy-nilly, we’d get fined--or arrested! Either way, the risks would be too high and would take much longer than a week.” 

Stella saw how wide Olivia’s eyes were and gave her a quick ‘sorry’ before returning to the matter at hand.

Olivia wanted to ask why Stella was apologizing, but she was too taken aback by what she was just told. She quickly peeked behind her, relieved to see Jess--wide opened mouth and all-- equally baffled as she was. She wasn’t hearing things. Thank goodness.

“Do we even know how we’re gonna make th’flint ‘n steel?” Asked Gill.

Stella stopped her talking and paused to think. She opened her mouth again but nothing came out. She put her hands on her hips and stared intensely at the materials, waiting for something to click. Aiden took out the journal from his jacket’s pocket and handed it to his stumped friend, the page to the crafting recipe already opened. 

What was supposed to help had managed to make the situation even more confusing. The words were nearly indecipherable. Whoever wrote this apparently never knew you could lift your pen while writing; if the colliding sentences didn’t make it impossible to read, then the ink blotches and odd stains made sure to change that. The owner of the journal wasn’t the best artist either, as a number of cluttered scribbles--which Stella could only assume were meant to represent certain items--needed arrows and labels to be placed beside them for clarification. Not like they did any good. 

Cassie joined Stella’s side and scanned the pages, “You sure this is english?”

“Where’d you say you get this from again?” Stella asked, lowering the journal.

“Hadrian’s.” Aiden answered.

“That explains it.” Cassie said.

“Alright, new idea!” Stella raised her index finger into the air, ready to go off but quickly halted when she heard footsteps.

Maya popped out from the staircase and looked at the group, “What are we doing?”

“I believe some of us should find the remaining materials, while the rest of us figure out this mess.” Stella said, showing the selected pages to her friends.

Aiden folded his arms, “Not that I’m against the plan, but we need to know where to look.” 

Gill stroked his beard for a moment, then his eyes lit up, “Whattabout th’shrine?”  
He whipped his head over to Aiden, who didn’t appear as enthusiastic as him, and his smile weakened.

“None of our shrine experiences have been good experiences…” Aiden mumbled, gripping his right arm. 

Aiden was ready to ask for other suggestions, but Gill interrupted, his excitement rising again.  
“Oh, no! I was thinkin’ bout the one we went to a couple’a years ago. The one in th’forest when we fought The Awakening the first time?” 

Aiden relaxed, “Yeah, we could do that.”

“Should be safe enough.” Maya said, going through the chest in the living room, taking out her and her friends’ weapons for the journey. Just in case.

She pulled out her iron sword and held it firmly as she joined Aiden and Gill’s side, “Those guys ditched that place the second we took down their monster, I don’t think they went back to get any of their weapons. Or items. Or whatever cults keep.”

“There should probably be a ton of redstone left.” Cassie Rose added, walking over to the armchair and throwing herself onto it.  
“Alright, Gill, Maya, and I are going to the shrine...” Aiden pointed at the redhead, “Rose, you wanna join us?”

Rose sunk deeper into the chair, “Nah, not this time. I think I’ll stay here and help Stella.” She said through a yawn.

“I’d like to go!” Jess piped up. This would be the perfect opportunity to properly explore another shrine without the constraints he had in the Shrine of Eyes. He was hoping Aiden and the others would be willing to answer the millions of questions his mind was bound to spawn while they’d be there.

Olivia found herself fascinated with the shrines as well, wondering what history of this universe it could contain. She pushed herself off the couch, “Same here--woah.”  
A wave of dizziness came over her, she clutched onto the armrest and focused at the floorboards until everything stopped.

Stella cautiously approached Olivia, “Are you alright? Hurt?”

Olivia kept her eyes on the ground, afraid looking elsewhere would cause the world to spin again, “I think I’m hungry?”

“Did you eat enough? What did you have for breakfast?” Stella asked as she hurried into the kitchen to grab the first piece of food she saw.

Did she even have breakfast? Or lunch? She would technically be having dinner at this time. All Olivia remembered was being too preoccupied with her book to eat. 

“Words.” Olivia answered.

Stella frantically came back with a banana in her hand and quickly gave it to Olivia.

Olivia wished she could have thanked Stella, but she had torn the peel off and started devouring the fruit, unaware of how hungry she truly was.

“I think--just to be cautious--you’ll stay with Cassie and I. We don’t want you passing out! And you four!” She faced Jess, Aiden, Maya, and Gill again, “Be safe.”  
Though she spoke to all four of them, her stern tone was targeted towards Aiden.

“I’ll make sure they don’t get themselves killed.” Maya said, handing Aiden and Gill their swords.

Aiden rolled his eyes and smirked, “We’ll be in and out. Won’t take too long.” 

Before leaving, Jess wanted to check to make sure Olivia was--and is going to be--alright. After the right amount of reassurance, he waved goodbye as he followed Aiden’s group out the door, leaving the three girls to themselves. 

Stella glanced at the pages of the journal then to Olivia and Cassie.  
“I’m going to translate this mess the best I can, stay right there!” She ran upstairs, not giving the two a chance to respond.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

“We go to the shrine, be prepared in case someone’s gonna attack us, I brought a pouch for the redstone--” Aiden was recapping aloud to himself. 

He suddenly whipped his head to Maya, “It’s in the northwest forest, right?” 

“Yup. Northwest.” She confirmed. Aiden spun back around and continued brainstorming how their search was going to play out.

The question seemed kinda pointless to Jess. Though Aiden was hardly paying attention to what direction they’ve been walking, he’s been leading the three to--what Jess was hoping--the right direction of the shrine with zero hesitation. 

Jess wasn’t sure how much longer the walk to this shrine would be, they’ve already been walking for nearly 20 minutes. The sun was lowering and the world was growing darker ever so slowly, but Jess was somehow restless. He couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason; he could be excited for the shrine, or terrified of the active cult and Jesse, or absolutely amazed by this universe, there were too many possibilities and emotions merging together.

‘Well, whether I’m scared or not,’ Jesse glanced at Aiden, Gill, and Maya, ‘I have Olivia and people who can help me.’ Yes, he had a rocky start with this group, but things felt like they were beginning to smooth out. He didn’t know how long him and Olivia would be stuck here, could be a few more days, or it could be a few more months, but it’d do them good to befriend this universe’s Aiden, Gill, Maya, Stella, and Cassie Rose.

‘I wonder if Radar would be okay with seeing me again.’ Jess thought to himself, recalling what had happened in the morning.

Jess must’ve been facing Maya while he was spacing out, as the girl was staring back at him with a raised brow.

“You good?”

“Huh--yeah! I just--you looked off.” Jesse fibbed, feeling his face redden. 

“Thanks.” Her brow fell to complete her unimpressed expression

“Oh, no! I didn’t mean it like that! It’s uh, you--your shirt!” Jess was only searching for an excuse, but to his surprise, there was something off about her shirt.

Maya blinked.  
“Cause I don’t have the ‘E’ on it?” She traced the letter E on her blank shirt as she said this.

Jess blinked then nodded. Everything she had on yesterday she wore a fresh pair of today, but her shirt was plain red with a light, blue-gray neckline. Her yellow hair clip was also absent. 

Maya was about to turn around, but Jess suddenly asked “So why’s mining illegal?”  
Aiden, Maya, and Gill had been talking to each other during their walk, and Jess didn’t want to interrupt--as they seemed preoccupied with their plans--but he couldn’t stay silent forever. This was the time to finally have a conversation of his own.

Jesse saw Maya open her mouth, expecting her to answer, but instead Gill replied.

“It’s not illegal, just really really _really_ regulated.”

Maya added on, “Town’s real serious about who’s mining. They don’t like having the wrong people getting materials. You can thank The Awakening for that.”

Jess tilted his head, “What could they have done to make a ‘mining license’ a real thing?”  
He couldn’t get over needing a license for something he and his friends could do freely back at home.

“Man, it all happened… I dunno, decades ago? People were jus’ fightin’ over materials ‘n things got real ugly.” Gill stared into the sky. 

“You got all these people looking for the same thing,” Jess heard Maya say, “usually in the same place, with the same goal. But it didn’t matter if they had the same goal, everyone wanted to be the first to get it. The second someone found gold or redstone, everyone’d jump and tear them limb from limb.”

“We don’t want anyone gettin’ stuff for The Awakening either.” said Gill. 

Jess didn’t stop to let this information settle in, instead, he immediately asked another question, “I know this happened years ago, but you wouldn’t happen to know what this goal was, do you?”

“The same goal The Awakening’s always had: Summon The Hero.” Maya answered sternly.

“They’re that determined?” Jess asked.

“That stubborn.” She growled.

Aiden spoke up, “Should only be a few minutes away now.” 

Jess brought his attention to what stood before them: a forest of thin, birch trees with scrawny branches. 

“Would you like t’hear more bout the minin’ or… somethin’.” Gill hid his face from Jess as if embarrassed by what he had said.

“Yeah,” Jess grinned, “I’d like that a lot.”  
Gill quickly peeked over at Jess and saw his infectious, curious smile, which caused Gill to beam brightly as well.

He started rambling on about how people created homes in caves, to tales created and shared to scare others away from the best mining spots, to the structures people would make, then Gill would be reminded of another bit of trivia he had learned from Mevia and Hadrian, which would lead to another sidetracked story Gill would talk about. He was talking too fast for Jess to respond, but Jess didn’t mind. He enjoyed the enthusiastic explanations and Gill’s unwavering smile. 

Their walking came to a slow as they reached a clearing in the middle of the woods. The clearing had a dry, dirt ground devoid of grass and flowers unlike the rest of the woods, and had six large, dark gray rocks--some as tall as Jess--arranged in a sloppy circle. Aiden commented on not remembering these being here and approached a boulder to his right, which was placed in between two other rocks. He called Gill over for help as he began pushing, Maya stood by in case the two needed an extra hand. 

Jesse took the time he had to study his surroundings. This was the second forest he’s been to today, but unlike the one to Petra’s, this one seemed peaceful. Unnervingly so. While Petra’s was tangled and crowded, the trees here were spaced apart--as if repelled by one another--with branches who barely brushed against each other. Because of the gracious space between the trees, the forest was well lit. The sun’s light only emphasized how empty the forest was.  
The other forest was loud, cluttered, and chaotic in the way nature should be, but here? There were no sounds. No chirping, no buzzing, not even a light breeze to rustle the leaves, only their footsteps and the grunting of Aiden and Gill.

It felt lifeless.

It felt wrong.

“Jess!” Aiden called out.  
Jess saw Gill and Aiden had successfully pushed the rock far enough to reveal a man made, rectangular hole. Aiden motioned him to come over as he began walking into the hole. There was a staircase?  
He rushed to the hole and peered into the cobweb filled stairway. How welcoming.

He waited for Gill and Maya to take a couple of steps down so there’d be enough space for him to follow behind. The instant his foot made contact with the first step, he swore the world became colder. 

After moments of walking, they came to a stop. Jess peeked over Maya’s shoulder and saw Aiden swinging open an old, wooden door that led to an abyss. Both Aiden and Gill soon stepped through the doorway and disappeared into the darkness, Maya soon following. Jess stopped in his tracks and turned his head, taking one last glance at the surface before facing the entrance again. He brought his eyes up and felt them glue onto a cracked symbol embedded into the wall above. When he finally stepped into the shrine and had been swallowed by the shadows, he could still visualize the symbol as if it was still in front of him.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

“Did you ever have any pets?” Olivia asked Cassie Rose. Olivia was sitting like a normal person would on a couch, while Cassie was crouching on the armchair, knees close to her chest and hands in her hoodie’s pocket.

“Nah.” Cassie answered, “Thought about getting one before, though. Why?”

“Well, back in my universe, you had a cat named Winslow and--”

“_What!?_” Cassie's sputtered response caused Olivia to jump, “Are you serious?!”

“Uh-huh,” Olivia nodded, caught off guard by her reaction, “you had well over five.”

“Aw man.” Cassie sunk into the armchair, “We always thought _Stella_ was going to be the crazy cat lady. My day’s been ruined.”

“No, Stella had a llama.” Olivia said.

“My day is now better.” 

Cassie didn't know what good knowing she was a cat-obsessed murderer and Stella being a llama-owning city-leader in an alternate universe would be, but it was fun to hear about. Maybe they’d be nice conversation starters, or something to say during arguments.

“Okay, good news!” The two heard Stella say as she hurried down the stairs.  
“I was able to translate a couple of sentences!” She said, waving a piece of paper in the air with one hand, and holding the journal in the other. 

She sat on the same couch as Olivia and lowered the paper, “The bad news is I’m still terribly confused.”

“Could I take a look?” Asked Olivia. Stella gave her the paper, Cassie hopped off her seat and joined Olivia’s side to see what her friend had managed to decipher.

It was no surprise to read they needed to create a flint and steel to get this recipe started, but besides that section, everything else read like a complex riddle they needed to solve to reach the next step. There was gibberish about needing a netherrack base, a redstone powder layered fire striker, and something about a gold coating. Olivia found herself wondering how they’d even begin to make this and if it even worked.

“_A netherrack base?_” Cassie repeated, as puzzled as the others.  
“Is the flint and steel itself gonna be made of netherrack, or do we make the flint and steel and _then_ cover it in netherrack?” She asked Stella.

“I really don’t know.” Stella gave her a defeated shrug, “But I don’t think we have enough netherrack for either. The pieces we have aren’t going to be enough.” 

Olivia looked back at the table in front of them where the netherrack laid. She could easily hold them all in one hand with little hassle. If they wanted to file down the netherrack into the shape of a flint and steel’s base, they’d most likely shave off too much and be stuck with a more miniscule amount than what they started with.

“As much as I don’t like the place,” Olivia said, “why don’t we go to the Nether and get more? I’ve been there a number of times, and as long as we’re careful, we--”

“_You’ve been to the Nether?!_” The two exclaimed in unison. Cassie appeared thrilled while Stella was mortified. 

“Do you like it there? Isn’t it cool?!” Cassie asked, bouncing in place. Her eyes were sparkling.

“It certainly is red.” Olivia said. 

“We can’t go there because…” Stella’s shoulders stiffen. She pressed her lips together and began cringing when fully considering the idea.

“I could go on about how dangerous it is there, not to mention illegal…”  
As Stella continued her list, Olivia remembered Aiden briefly stating portals and traveling to other worlds was illegal yesterday. Her book also somewhat described the unstable portals people created years ago. However, that was the most she knew, as pages of information--useful information, no doubt--had been torn. Perhaps now would be a good time to ask for more facts.

“... We don’t have enough obsidian, fireproof potions are ridiculously expensive--”

Olivia was about to ask why portals were illegal, but she froze and stared at Stella for a moment.

“I’m sorry… You’re telling me it’s hard to find _obsidian_… In _Obsidian Town_?”

“I’m sorry, is there a everywhere you step in _Beacon Town_?” Cassie Rose’s eyebrows shot up.

Olivia let her mouth hang before mumbling a quick “No.”

“We use obsidian to make bases for our buildings. It’s the only thing strong enough to keep them in place when a quake strikes.” Stella explained.

Olivia shook her head and asked her original question, “Hold on, why would you make portals _illegal_?”

Stella tapped her foot as her anxiousness increased, they really needed to work on this recipe, “Do you want the long version or the short version?” 

Olivia took note of the blonde’s fidgety behavior, “... Short, please.”  
She would have to get the long version later.

Cassie promptly started talking, “Okay, creepy cult people have this dumb theory that The Hero’s been banished to another universe, right?”

“Alright?” She responded. Right off the bat Olivia was confused, but she was afraid saying anything else would be wasting more time. 

“Right, so they start making a ton of portals, thinking they’ll find Mr. No-Eyes in the Nether. Welp, turns out, he wasn’t there, so they created different portals to different places. People started going missing, a lotta materials went blip, and then there were so many portals the world started freaking out. A few hundred years later and here we are.”

Cassie’s explanation answered half a question and created 50 more.

“Thank you, Cassie.” Stella gave a nervous, but genuine, smile.  
She glanced at what items they had on the table and sighed, “We should’ve asked Petra if she had any flint and steels on her.”

“She only has the one for her nether portal, no way is she gonna give that up.” Cassie said.

“I wouldn’t mind if she gave us a dead one. It’d be nice to have a reference to work off of.” 

Did they not know how to make flint and steels? 

‘I guess with portals banned, people started making flint and steels less? Or they could’ve been outlawed since they activate the portals…’ Olivia pondered. Either way, she knew how to make a flint and steel, so might as well speak up.

“Actually, I…” Olivia stopped

The two girls waited for her to continue, but then Olivia realized: She knew how to make them, but she didn’t know how to explain it. Just like making redstone contraptions, her mind would go on autopilot and start creating without a second thought, it all came so naturally to her. Maybe if she had the necessary materials in front of her, she could easily show them how to craft the item. But she didn’t. She closed her mouth and stared blankly at the table.

“Uhm, nevermind.” She could feel her cheeks grow red.

“You know who probably has a bunch of dead flint and steels?” Cassie asked, whipping her head to Stella. “Hadrian and Mevia.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had a BANGER writing this one, hope you enjoy!!

_Uncomfortable. That was the only word Jesse could use to perfectly describe the nave he sat in. Pure, unfiltered discomfort. _

_Two days after Lukas’ funeral, Nell came knocking on his door in the middle of the day saying her ‘support group’ was getting together soon, and offered to walk him there. As she guided him out of Obsidian Town and through the seemingly infinite field of grass, past the northwest forest where the once-active shrine laid, a horrible realization consumed Jesse’s mind: he’s going to be surrounded by enemies with no protection. No sword, no arrows, nothing._

_He had been too consumed with the loss of Lukas to properly plan his visit to the ‘support group’, he had practically forgotten about Nell’s offer as well, but there was no point in dreading his past poor planning now._

_Here he sat in the nave, hundreds upon hundreds of feet below the surface and away his friends, of The Awakening._

_Jesse was unsure when the service would begin. Every eternal minute he waited was another nail being impaled into his head, telling him this was the worst decision he’s made in his entire life._

_What was he doing here?_

_‘You’re here for Lukas.’ He reminded himself. Not just Lukas, but for Aiden, Maya, Gill, Cassie, and Stella too. They were his friends as well._

_Nell must’ve seen Jesse’s hands shake as they rested on his legs, she reached and held one of them, giving him a smile. Jesse gave her a small, forced smile in return._

_Jesse was seated in the middle of a bench, pressed between Nell and a middle aged man, in the third row of the nave. There were seven rows, fourteen including the other benches on the left side, and they were all packed. He scanned the nave and everyone in here. They were all sitting and talking to one another. Not a single person was standing. If Jesse attempted to leave now, they’d all notice. _

_The chattering of the people, which was the only minimal source of comfort Jesse had, turned to hushes, then to silence._

_Jesse brought his attention to the front of the room where the stage stood, it had hanging banners, red flowers in pots, redstone torches aligned on the walls, and three men who stood behind the podium. The names of the eldest, white haired man and the older, dark skinned man to the right had slipped Jesse’s mind, but he remembered the horribly pale, blond man to the left of them: Cecil. Out of the three, Jesse, Aiden, and the others fought Cecil--back when he and Radar worked together--the most. _

_The eldest man, with a smile on his wrinkled face, began talking. Jesse couldn’t listen. He can’t. He tore his hand out of Nell’s and gripped onto the edge of the bench in front of him, focusing on the stone floor below, breathing in and out of the mouth hoping it’d calm his nerves. He remembered the older men being blind, but Cecil wasn’t. What if Cecil spotted him in the crowd? What would he do? Would he run? Fight his way through? _

_Why didn’t he tell his friends where he was going? Why didn’t he tell them about Nell? He should have. One of them could have joined him. He’d feel safer. He’d be safer._

_Jesse heard the creaking of wood followed by tens of footsteps. He brought his eyes back up to see the people from the first row form a line by the small staircase that led to the stage._

_“Are you alright?” He heard Nell ask._

_He nodded as he watched a person step on stage, approach a basket set on the podium, place something inside, nodded, then stepped down. Another person repeated this process._

_“What’s going on?” Jesse asked, continuing to watch the people._

_“People’s payment.” Nell answered._

_Jesse’s body jolted. Payment?_

_“I didn’t bring any money--!” He felt the panic begin to rise again. _

_“Relax, you’ll be okay.” Nell hushed him, “You can ‘pay’ with a confession.” _

_The people of the second row stood and came to the stage as the first row returned to their seats._

_“What? What does that mean? What should I even confess?” _

_“When you step up there, put your hand over the basket and tell a truth.” She vaguely explained. _

_Jesse looked back at the people. Maybe him sitting in the third row made it hard to properly see what the people were doing, but it seemed everyone was giving money. He didn’t want to be the only one. What if he let important information slip? The men heard his voice before, they were bound to know it was Jesse. Maybe he could deepen his voice, confess in one quick breath, then leave. He still needed to come up with a confession, even a white lie would do. _

_Nell nudged him, “Don’t worry, people have confessed to some pretty awful things before.” _

_She directed his attention to the people sitting beside him, who had risen from their seats, and began walking to the stage. Nell hoisted Jesse up by his arm and began guiding him to the line._

_“If you confess to something embarrassing, I’ll be sure to make my confession worse.” Nell promised. Her tone was optimistic and fueled his anxiety rather than helped it._

_Jesse prayed for the line to go slowly, that the truths people told would be long and time consuming, but instead he found himself moving closer to the stairs every few seconds. Each step he took, he could make out more of the men’s appearances. Every strand of hair, every crack and wrinkle in their faces, the scars of severe burn marks, and every other despicable detail. They repulsed Jesse._

_When one person stepped off the stage, the men would turn to the next person coming on. Each time they turned their head, Jesse swore Cecil’s eyes locked onto his._

_“Thank you.” Jesse heard the oldest say to the middle aged man. When the man walked off, they brought their heads to Jesse’s direction._

_‘You’ve fought them before.’ Jesse told himself as he put his weight on the first step._

_‘Just be quick. Get it over with.’ He dragged his feet across the wooden planks, his eyes beholding the men before him. He saw Cecil had now closed his eyes, a light smile on his face. The same smile he wore whenever he witnessed Jesse and his friends in misery._

_Jesse stood in front of the podium and hovered his shaking hand over the full basket._

_“I once…” Why was his voice so brittle?  
The dark skinned man lifted his head upon hearing Jesse’s voice._

_Jesse swallowed, “I once broke my friend’s sword. I felt awful, so I made him a new one. He never found out.”_

_He pulled his hand back, ready to leave, but the man on the right stepped close. _

_“I don’t believe I recognize your voice.” His voice was deep and deceitfully calm. A smile was on his face, and his foggy eyes created the illusion of softness. _

_“Is this your first gathering?” The man asked, his hands were clasped together._

_He doesn’t want to do this anymore. Please. Please let him sit back down. Please let him go. _

_“Yes.” Jesse answered quietly, looking down._

_“Ah, it is always wonderful hearing a new voice.” The man raised one hand and placed it on Jesse’s shoulder. Jesse’s body stiffened.  
“I am Brenner. Who might you be?” _

_Jesse felt all eyes in the nave pierce through him. He could feel them watching. Don’t panic. Don’t cause a scene. Don’t._

_His mind couldn’t create a false name in time, “Jesse.”_

_Brenner’s smile grew, he pulled Jesse close and spun him around to face the crowd.  
“We have a new member in our family!” Announced Brenner as he held Jesse close._

_Jesse looked on in horror as the audience stood up and cheered for him. His eyes darted over the crowd; from complete strangers, to kids, to elders, to people who lived in his town, they all watched him. Clapped for him. Celebrated his presence._

_He wanted to go home._

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jess studied what little of the shrine he could make out. Had it not been for the sunlight outside, it’d be nearly impossible to see the ruined shrine’s interior. The inside actually looked far nicer than what Jess imagined. When he heard the words ‘abandoned shrine’, he expected massive cobwebs, walls seconds away from crumbling and a ceiling moments away from caving in, or giant, collapsed columns with their remains spilled over the floor. But amazingly, the place was in decent condition. 

The walls and floors had minor cracks throughout them, the biggest being those the size of Jess’ arm, and there were four, sturdy columns in the room that supported the ceiling. Speaking of which, chunks of the ceiling were missing, most likely due to the quakes throughout the years, and had fallen onto the ground and the benches. Rain must’ve seeped through the cracks above, as mold had formed in the corners of the room, on the benches, and on the thin, red carpet that led to a broken, battered stage at the end. An odd, earthly scent clashed with a powerful, rusty odor which Jess’ stomach wasn’t sure how to feel about.

“This place’s definitely seen better days.” Gill said aloud. His voice echoed through what was once a nave. 

Maya took out two torch sticks and struck them against the wall, setting both ablaze. The room brightened, tinted orange by the fires, and two doorways became visible. One was on the left of the ruined stage while the other was in the center of the left wall. Neither appeared welcoming.

“Here.” Maya handed Aiden a torch. 

The four followed the moldy carpet past the benches then stopped in front of the stage. Jess turned towards it, beholding the torn banners and the eerie symbol placed between them. Something about seeing the symbol in a wall of a forgotten shrine, luminated by a flickering source of light, made Jess feel as though the shrine were haunted.

He dragged his eyes away from the symbol and locked onto the door-hole by the stage.  
“Should we start our search there?” Jess pointed to the hole. 

Aiden glanced at the door then shook his head, “Nah, we wanna go through that one.”  
He pointed to the other doorway, which was more refined and had a wooden frame unlike the one Jess suggested.

Aiden walked around the benches and headed to the doorway, the others followed behind. 

“I’m not sure where _that_ leads to, but I _do_ know this hallway branches off to a bunch of different rooms.” Aiden explained, extending his hand with the torch in front of him as he entered said-hall. 

Jess followed behind Aiden, Gill and Maya behind him, small bits of ember occasionally flying into his hair. They truly needed the torches, not only because of how dark the hallway was, but because the smoke overpowered the putrid smell of rust and mold.

It didn’t take much walking for them to soon encounter their first door, however, they didn’t enter just yet.

“Hold on, I want to check something.” Aiden said, and continued walking through the narrow, pitch black hall, the light of his torch revealing five more worn down, wooden doors as he passed them. The brightness of the fire faded the further he went, but before he became completely consumed by the darkness, fire and all, he stopped. His whispered cussing bounced off the walls.

“You okay?” Gill asked, squinting at the flame of Aiden’s torch, barely making out his silhouette. 

“Yeah.” Aiden huffed, returning to his friends, “Remember those stairs that led to the real big room underneath?” 

“Uh huh?” Gill responded. 

“It’s been completely blocked off by rubble. Even if we managed to move the rocks, I’m pretty sure the trip down wouldn’t be safe.”

“That’s alright.” Maya said.  
She glanced at the walls, “We got six rooms to search through. They should have something.” 

“Exactly.” Aiden looked at the three.  
“We’ll go in pairs. Maya and Gill, you check out the rooms on the right side. Jess and I will go through the ones on the left.”

“Got it.” Maya approached the first door she saw and swung it open with her free hand.  
Gill followed behind, “We’ll holler if we spot anythin’!”

Aiden didn’t waste any time, he opened the first left door at the beginning of the hallway and tilted his head, signalling Jess to follow. Not that Jess needed to be told, he was already rushing inside, eager to see what the first door had to offer.

What laid in the room they entered were the remains of a small library. Towering bookshelves covered the walls, a few had fallen to the floor and broke into pieces, and were filled with dusty books of a variety of sizes. A tattered ladder with missing steps leaned against a bookshelf which stood beside an old writing desk, who had clumps of black ink all over it’s old, wooden top. Chests, all closed, were placed in front of bookcases by the desk, and had a few books on their tops. The stone floor had a large, round, torn carpet with intricate golden-yellow and deep red designs sewn into it, along with the symbol Jess saw before. Despite how worned it seemed, the carpet was still in good condition, and looked as though it took months upon months to make. It made Jess wonder why someone would leave it behind.

By the door they came through, there were two unlit torches on each side. Aiden fed fire to them; the combined strength of the three flames revealed tiny symbols painstakingly carved into the walls. As Aiden started removing the books from the chests, Jess brought himself closer to what walls weren’t covered by the shelves and started running his fingers over the symbols. As he felt each bump, scratch, and tiny hole thoughtfully chiseled into each unique symbol, he imagined what Olivia would do if she beheld what he saw. 

She would get on her knees, fingers would carefully trace each individual line that created each miniscule detail, trying to figure out what each shape represented or what the shape was meant to be. She’d wonder how long the symbols have been around for, and how important they were to the people who created them. 

Speaking of wondering…  
“How many shrines are there?” Jess asked his first question.

Aiden looked up from the chest and thought for a moment, “Around Obsidian Town or around the world?” 

Jess slowly raised his brows, “Do you _know_ how many shrines are around the world?”

“No.” Aiden chuckled, “But there’s four known shrines around our town, I wouldn’t be surprised if that number shrunk with all those quakes over time though.” 

Aiden moved to the next chest to the left of him after he found nothing, and began digging around, “Apparently The Awakening has been ditching old shrines and building up new ones whenever something goes _slightly_ wrong for years.”

His fingers reached the bottom and felt a soft, sandy substance, causing his eyes to brighten.

“They did it again after we beat ‘em, nice to know some things never change.” A smug smile spread across his face. He took his hand out of the chest and saw the tips of his fingers coated in a red, glittering dust. He grabbed the leather pouch from his jacket’s pocket, opened it, and carefully started transferring the redstone powder into the bag.

Jess, not wanting to stand around and only ask questions, brought himself to a chest on the farther left side of the library, and started searching as well.

“Was there a specific reason why these were built?” He asked, hand digging through the forgotten items, “Are they all made for worshipping The Hero, or is each one built with a specific reason? Do people live in them?” 

“I dunno about people living in them--” He halted and swore under his breath as the red powder slipped through his fingertips and clouded his vision red. 

“You’d probably have to ask Hadrian and Mevia for more details on shrines. Or Gill.” 

Aiden scraped as much of the powder he could and poured it into the pouch, “Most of them were made for worshipping. The Shrine of Eyes? Worshipping, but was also used for attempted summonings.” 

Jess remained still for a minute, staring aimlessly into the chest as he thought to himself.

“Why do people worship The Hero?”

Aiden opened his mouth but quickly closed it, clenching his teeth.

“That’s…” He pressed his lips together, “We only know the surface level of The Awakening. Radar knows a lot more, but he probably won’t share much.” 

He closed the chest and tightened the strings of the pouch, “The Awakening has this crazy theory that The Hero is a god who’s been banished to another dimension--another universe?” 

Aiden stopped to think, then continued, “He was made to represent the worst in everyone, the exact opposite of the Impossible Man. I also remember a lot of people linking the earthquakes we get with The Hero judging us and ‘trying to escape’ his banishment. There’s a lotta theories out there.” 

He stood up, “So my only guess is The Awakening hopes them being suck-ups will be enough to make The Hero spare our world. It’s such a weird rabbithole I don’t wanna get myself into.”

“All I need to know is they’re doing bad things,” Aiden slammed the chest closed, “and _we_ gotta stop them.” 

“Don’t they have a lot of members?” Jess tilted his head, “Isn’t it overwhelming?” 

“Didn’t stop us last time.” Aiden grinned, but his pride was short lived as he remembered something. 

“But first we need to get our Jesse back.” Aiden mumbled as he dragged his feet to the next chest. 

Jess could see a sadness form in Aiden’s eyes as he began searching through the chest. 

‘Ask another question. Change the subject.’ He told himself. Jess glanced at the carpet then back at Aiden.

“What’s the uh, what’s that symbol supposed to be?” He pointed to said-symbol in the center of the carpet.

Aiden turned to the rug, “Oh, that. It’s supposed to be The Awakening’s empty eye. It’s their way of showing loyalty.”

Jess focused on the empty eye and scrunched his brow, “How?” 

“Shoot, you’ve never seen it before, right. Well it’s--it’s when you do this.” 

Jess watched Aiden begin to roll his pupils to the back of his head, further and further till only his thin veins were visible on his empty, white eyes.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Stella tapped her foot impatiently, her worried expression growing. Cassie Rose was leaning against the wall by the door of the old, wooden house, her hands in her hoodie’s pockets. Olivia stood in front of the door, staring at the “Closed” sign, the once bold red bleached by the sunlight.

All Olivia could do was keep facing the store, she could hear the footsteps and chatter of the citizens walking along the road, which only made her bury her face into the hoodie more, praying no one would recognize her. She still couldn’t wrap her head around the fact the people here were active at night, just imagining people enjoying their breakfasts and heading off to work at 9 PM weirded her out.

“Maybe we came at a bad time.” Stella said out loud, her fingers picking at the skin of her face. 

“He said he’ll be here in a few minutes, we just gotta wait.” Cassie tried to reassure her friend.

“I know, I know.” She took a couple of deep breaths to settle her nerves. These past minutes felt like hours. 

Cassie looked at Olivia, “You got a Hadrian and Mevia back at your place?” 

Olivia quickly glanced at the redhead, “Yes, they were the more… Interesting people.”

“Yeah?” 

Olivia kept going, “They ran games, liked sending people to mines, sadistic--_oh my gosh_, they were so twisted. I think they were the worst senior citizens I’ve ever met.” 

Cassie bursted out into laughter, Stella didn’t comment on Olivia’s description. She didn’t need to. Her bugged eyes said it all. Olivia’s cheeks got hot. 

Cassie took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes, “That’s great. Would love to meet them one day.” She said through chuckles. 

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, our Hadrian and Mevia are nothing like your’s. They just run a little shop and dress a little weird.” Stella said, clasping her hands together.

Olivia grinned, “Mine’s dressed pretty weird too, it’s nice to know they have one thing in common.” 

Cassie Rose opened her mouth, ready to say more, but the doorknob started jiggling. Faint clicking sounds could be heard on the other side. Stella and Olivia stepped back, and the door swung wide open, the small bell tied to the knob dangled wildly. 

“Hello, girls!” Greeted a jolly looking Hadrian, “Sorry bout the wait, I--” 

Hadrian’s eyes locked onto Olivia’s face. His body froze, his mouth hung open, and before Stella or Cassie had the chance to say anything, he swiftly slammed the door in their faces. The three stood there awkwardly and exchanged concerned expressions with one another.

Stella leaned forward, ready to knock again, but Hadrian cracked the door open and barely brought his face out.

“You…” He said in a whisper, gazing at Olivia, “You wouldn’t happen to be from… From another _universe_, would you?” 

Olivia blinked, Stella and Cassie looked as surprised as she did. 

“Who did--” Stella sputtered, “How did you--”

“Hadrian? Who are you talking to?” The four heard Mevia coming closer. Hadrian jumped and shut the door again. The girls listened to the muffled conversation; Hadrian said no one important was there, Mevia kept pushing to see who it was, Hadrian kept refusing, then the two started shoving each other. The ruckus continued growing until Mevia successfully kicked the door open.

She let out a loud gasp and pointed to Olivia, “Please, _please_ tell me you’re from another universe.” 

Olivia saw Mevia’s barely contained smile and wondered if she really needed to answer her.  
“I am.” 

Mevia was beaming. She slowly turned to Hadrian, who was clutching onto the door frame, her smile growing stronger.

“Don’t do it.” He pointed at the blue haired lady. Mevia opened her mouth.

“Don’t you say it.” He growled.

“I…” 

“_Mevia, I swear to all things possible--_”

“_I was right~!_” She sang, her finger jabbing into Hadrian’s arm. 

He hung his head in defeat and loudly groaned, “You were right.” 

“I’m confused, what’s going on?” Stella questioned, giving the two a baffled expression.

Hadrian pushed up his glasses, “I’ll tell ya inside.”  
As the girls followed the man into the store, squeezing their way through the tight spaces and carefully stepping over the scattered candles, he went on to explain what had happened after Jess, Aiden, and Gill had visited. He repeated everything he’s been told by Jess and Aiden to Mevia, they both took note on how out of character he was, along with Olivia being mentioned, and that’s when Mevia theorized the possibility of another universe coming into play. Hadrian told the girls he thought her idea ‘was the most ridiculous thing he’s ever heard’, and ‘there’s no way, it’s impossible’, but turns out he was wrong. Mevia wore a smug smirk as he talked about his loss. 

Throughout the summary, Olivia watched Hadrian gesturing with his hands, holding her breath every time his thick, unbuttoned, dusty yellow and purple striped cloak swung close to the flames of the lit candles. If his cloak wasn’t making Olivia nervous, then it’d be his long, striped pants that looked as though they’d get caught on the many items laying on the floor, or hooked on whatever was sticking out of shelves, and make him trip. The only article of clothing he wore that _wasn’t_ considered a hazard was his pinned, yellow dress shirt, which was somewhat covered by his loosely worn cloak.

Olivia didn’t even want to _start_ on the flowing red and black dress Mevia wore. While it had laces tied around her chest to keep it from slipping off, the dress’ straps would slide down her shoulders, and the fabric would fly everywhere every time she spun around to face the girls. How could they wear outfits like _these_ in _this_ mess? 

But was it fair for Olivia to criticize their jumbled store? 

She thought back to her home, how she had an entire room dedicated to creating redstone contraptions, and how disordered it was. Powder was smeared everywhere, half-crafted items and broken materials would lay on every surface, her tools and torches were sloppily thrown onto tables; calling her workshop ‘messy’ would be generous. When Olivia scanned Hadrian’s store, she couldn’t help but find charm in it’s chaos, and feel the importance and history of every object placed in this store. 

“I can’t breathe.” Olivia heard Cassie mutter. She turned to see Mevia giving the redhead a crushing hug.

Mevia let go, “Sorry, sorry! I’m just excited my favorite girl came to visit! I’m a little sad Gill’s not with you though.”

Cassie wanted to comment how their last visit was merely two weeks ago, and the fact they also lived extremely close to each other, but she decided to let Mevia’s enthusiasm remain.

Stella had taken a seat on one of the many cushioned, wooden chairs who faced the small stage, while Hadrian was searching through a tower of boxes. 

“I know we gotta have _one_ flint’n steel here…” Hadrian said, taking junk from the box by the handful and dumping them onto the floor. 

“It’s for a crafting recipe Aiden found in your journal.” Stella explained.

“Oh no, ain’t mine!” Hadrian said, “Got it from some crazy bearded guy. ‘Sides, you know my handwriting’s nicer than that.”  
The two continued conversing. 

‘I guess Stella already told them what’s been going on.’ Olivia thought to herself.

Mevia suddenly jumped and faced Olivia, “You! I have so man--so many questions!”  
She was choking up. Olivia and Cassie noted her voice cracking.

“You okay?” Cassie asked the older woman.

Mevia nodded wildly, fanning her eyes, “Yes, perfectly fine! It’s just really, really weird to see her again, you know?”  
Despite her shaky tone and the few tears running down her eyes, she was beaming. She didn’t look too sad, and she certainly didn’t _feel_ sad over seeing this Olivia.

“I’m only a little overwhelmed. Thinking about--” Mevia rubbed her eyes and took a quick breath.  
“Okay, questions!” She clapped her hands, “What am I like in your universe? Is Hadrian a killjoy like he is here?”

“I heard that!” Hadrian shot back.

“You were axe-crazy and Hadrian was a real bad liar.” Olivia said. Mevia bobbed her head.

The woman then recalled something, her eyes sparkled and she rushed to the top of the cluttered stage, grabbing a cracked head from the pile of statue remains. Mevia held the head with both hands and spun it around so it’d face Olivia and Cassie when they caught up with her. The head was a man with an unchiseled beard and a determined expression. 

“Do you have your own version of ‘The Impossible Man’?” Mevia asked, tossing the head from hand to hand as if it were a toy.

Olivia opened her mouth and thought for a moment.  
“I… Actually don’t know much about The Impossible Man.” She did remember her book describing the man, but her knowledge was still limited. It’d be nice to hear more about him from a person who lived in this universe. 

Her response was met with the dropped jaws of Mevia and Stella. 

“Shut _UP_!” Mevia threw the head to the ground, “You don’t know?!” 

“Mevia, _please_ be careful with the statues.” Hadrian pleaded.

“Sorry! Anyways! Quick lesson!”  
Mevia slid to the center of the stage, “Picture this:” She started, flicking her hands up and splaying her fingers. 

“You have a man who’s done it all! Traveled across the world through the most wild biomes, fighting different, ferocious monsters and making companions along the way! He’s explored the deepest oceans and the tallest mountains!” She swayed herself over to the statues again, fingers running along the edges where stone had cracked.

“He destroyed countless beasts in the Nether and single handedly slayed the dragon in The End!” She said as she swung an imaginary sword.

“But isn’t that--” Olivia began, but was interrupted by Mevia.

“Impossible?” A grin crept across her face, “_Exactly._”

Olivia went quiet for a moment.  
“For someone who’s done so much,” She said, “why isn’t he called by his name?”

Mevia shrugged, “Well, no one knows what it is! He’s been called a number of names throughout generations, from Aaron, Alex, Daliso, Milagro, to--”

“Steve.” Hadrian added with a chuckle.

“Oh, that’s my least favorite one.” She laughed. “But I don’t think it matters what his name is. He impacted our world, he represents the good in everybody, people see themselves in him, he’s an inspiration, and I think that’s what’s important.”

Mevia stepped off the stage, “Heck, he inspired Hadrian and I to explore the world when we were younger!”

“Good times...” Hadrian commented, a warm smile on his face. 

Olivia sat on a chair closest to the stage--Stella had gotten up to help Hadrian search through the boxes--and thought to herself. She pondered about The Impossible Man and her universe. 

“We had The Order of the Stone,” Olivia said, “They were a group of people who killed the Ender Dragon, along with going on many adventures.” She chose to leave out the fact The Order lied to everyone about the dragon, she didn’t want to ruin the mood.

Then Olivia recalled a detail, “You and Hadrian were a part of The Old Builders! There were two other members: Harper and Otto. Do you have them in this universe?” 

Mevia’s smile weakened, a flash of sorrow flickered through her eyes, and her shoulders dropped.  
“Used to.” She answered 

Olivia’s face fell, “Oh, I’m… I’m sorry.” 

Mevia’s hand swat the air, “Don’t be! Don’t worry, it’s all in the past now. Back in our adventuring days.”  
She walked to a small, round, brown table covered in papers in pens, knelt to the floor, and placed her hand on a loose wooden plank. She removed the plank and took out a diamond axe.

“We may not leave our house as much anymore, but if something or some_one_ dangerous breaks in, we’re more than capable of taking care of ourselves.” She gripped the axe, holding it over her shoulder, and focusing on the wall in front of her.

“The second something dangerous waltzes in here--WHAM-O!” She chucked the axe with all her strength. It flew across the room and hit the wall, releasing a loud crack and causing Stella to jump. The axe was now stuck in the newly formed hole in the wall.

Mevia turned to Cassie and they high-fived.

“_Please_ do not throw axes in our humble store.” Hadrian whined, rubbing his temples.

“I needed a visual demonstration!” Mevia exclaimed. 

“No you did not!” He grumbled.  
Hadrian shoved the boxes aside and brushed himself off. He came to Cassie and Olivia, Stella following behind, and showed them the flint and steel he had found. Whoever had owned this--whether it was Hadrian himself or a stranger--really made the most of it. The firestriker was crooked and stained with soot, the tool was practically useless. 

“Thank you again, we really appreciate your help.” Stella said. 

Hadrian handed her the item, “Not a problem. Now get outta here! Shoo before Mevia decides she wants to show you three more ‘visual demonstrations’!” He chuckled.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

The library only offered redstone powder for Jess and Aiden, while the room next to the library had been taken over by debris, so any items that could’ve been in there were crushed and not worth the risk of getting harmed if they attempted to move the rubble. The last room at the very end of the hall held weapons and many, many dead redstone torches. Aiden was able to find enough powder to completely fill the pouch and last him and his friends for the rest of the week. Jess kept mental notes of everything to tell Olivia what he’s learned during his time here. 

Aiden tightened the strings of the pouch, ready to get the others, when a series of knocks caught their attention. They turned around to see Maya and Gill standing in the doorway. 

“Any luck?” Maya asked.

“Lotta dust.” Aiden said, showing her the heavy pouch. “What about you?”

“We got several pieces of flint!” Gill answered, lightly patting the jacket pocket he put the rocks in.  
His eyes scanned the room, “Hey, I got stabbed here!” 

Jess looked at Gill, then at the room, then back to Gill. What was he supposed to say? Gill sounded optimistic, was he supposed to apologize? Laugh nervously? Stay silent? Was there even an appropriate way to respond to what he’s said?

“Good to know?” Jess said, his eyes wide.

Maya changed the subject, “We found a storage room, we thought we’d find some gold there, but a lot of the chests were empty or destroyed.”

“That’s okay, just glad we got something. We should get going though, I don’t think there’s anywhere else we can look.” Aiden said. Before they returned to the nave, the group double checked the six rooms to make sure they didn’t leave any torches lit, then began their walk through the tight hallway. 

“Maybe we’ll run into some gold later on?” Jess suggested as they continued walking.

“I don’t think people leave gold laying around.” Aiden turned his head a bit to face Jess with a smirk, “But maybe, who knows.” 

Once they got out, Aiden, Gill, and Maya were discussing the flint and steel crafting recipe, and how things would play out depending on what Stella was able to translate when they returned home. As the three talked, Jess caught a glimpse of the door hole by the stage from the corner of his eye. He brought his head around and stared into it. 

“Can I look through there?” Jess asked.  
The others brought their attention to the hole.

Maya thought to herself for a moment then said “I think there’s only one room at the end. You probably won’t get much outta it.” 

“Just in case?” He tilted his head.

“Alright,” Aiden agreed, “but make it fast.” 

Jess nodded and scurried through the doorhole, entering another narrow hallway. The hallway, much like the previous one, was nearly pitch black. However, the further he went, the colder it got. As he descended further into the hall, his eyes were no longer any good. He had to rely on his hands to feel for doors.

He stopped when he felt his foot hit the end of the hallway, but something felt off. He lightly kicked the dead end and realized he was standing in front of a door.

“Told you there was only one room.” Maya said. Jess almost jumped out of his skin, he didn’t think it was possible to walk quietly through this ancient place.

Maya could hear his quick breaths, “Sorry.” 

“It’s good, we’re all good.” Jess collected himself then faced the door again. He extended his arm and let his fingers run against the rough, jagged, wood, trying to feel for the knob. Once his hand came into contact with a cold, round object, he wrapped his hand around it and turned. 

He opened the door a crack. That’s the most he could open it. He thought the door might’ve been stuck, so he pressed his body against it and pushed harder. It didn’t budge. 

“Can you not open doors?” He heard Aiden whisper.

“No, something’s blocking it!” Jess whisper-shouted back. He peeked into the crack.

The first thing he noticed were the stone bricks stacked halfway to the door and prevented him from completely opening it. The second thing he noticed was the room was empty. Actually, that wasn’t true, there were stains on the cracked floor, a ladder on the left wall, and on the wall across from the door were two lit redstone torches. While the other rooms were ruined and in poor condition, it was clear people had used them, lived in them. This room was devoid of life.

‘Wait…’ Jess peeked back into the room. Why were the torches lit?  
He scanned the room again; his eyes landed on the ladder which pulled his attention to the ceiling. There was a trapdoor. Where did it lead to?

“I think... “ Jess mumbled, “I think someone’s been in here.”  
The air became frigid.

“Let me see.” Aiden said, pulling Jess to the side. He got close to the crack and studied the room.

“Who wou--” Aiden started but immediately shut up and pressed his head against the door.

“What’s up?” Gill asked, who was quickly shushed by Aiden.

The four stood in silence for a moment, then they heard it. The faint sound of footsteps nearing the trapdoor. While they weren’t approaching the trapdoor itself, they were close. They were coming from above. 

Then voices. 

“We’ll start… He gives us… Or…” A deep voice said.  
Aiden could only hear bits and pieces, which was far more than what the others could understand. 

“Few days… Should… Portal…” 

Aiden’s body tensed when he heard the last word. He listened for more, but the voices dwindled and he was left with a haunting silence.

He carefully closed the door then faced his friends, “They’re planning something.” 

“What? Who is?” While Jess was confused, Maya and Gill seemed to know what Aiden was referring to, and were instantly on edge.

“We gotta go. We need to tell the others.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Cassie, Stella, and Olivia were sitting around the coffee table studying the items, the recipe, and the old flint and steel. Cassie kept rereading the directions over and over, attempting to make sense of them, while Stella held the flint and steel from a distance, rotating it around to get every angle of the tool. Olivia was sitting on the floor, brainstorming how they could possibly craft the odd variant of the flint and steel along with thinking about what Mevia had told her. 

Olivia felt a yawn coming and attempted to suppress it, not wanting to come off as uninterested in what they were currently doing, but failed.

Stella peeked at her, “Oh right, time difference! Do you need to sleep?” 

Olivia wasn’t sure what time it was; their trip to Petra’s was about an hour or two long and she had no idea how much time they'd spent in Obsidian Town, but it was obviously late. The sky was now a deep blue with stars scattered throughout, and the waning gibbous had risen high.

Olivia shook her head, “No, I’ll be okay, we need to figure this recipe out.”

“That’s true, _but_ Cassie and I are well rested and we’re going to be busy all night. You shouldn’t force yourself to stay awake.” Stella said. 

Olivia stared at the table for a minute.  
“If I wake up early enough,” she started, “I could continue working on the flint and steel. I do know my way around redstone, so if Jess and the others bring some back, I could definitely make some progress.”

Admittingly, she’s never seen redstone be used for flint and steel before, but hopefully her and Jess would be able to figure out what to do.

“Sounds perfect!” Stella clasped her hands together.

“What the heck’s taking them so long anyways?” Cassie asked, looking up from the paper

Olivia didn’t know how far the shrine was from town, but it's been nearly half an hour since they’ve returned from Hadrian’s, and the others had yet to return. She started wondering if Jess needed to rest as well, but remembering how enthusiastic he was to join Aiden on his scavenger hunt made her doubt that.

Suddenly, the front door swung open and Aiden, Jess, Maya, and Gill rushed in. Before either of the girls could greet them, they began frantically--and sloppily--explaining what had happened at the shrine. Their words would clash together, everyone was interrupting and talking over each other, no sense could be made.

Stella raised her voice, “Please--One at a time, please!” 

“Yeah, all I could hear was flint and something about a door.” Cassie said.

Olivia popped out from behind the girls, Jess gasped and ran up to her.  
“Olivia! Gosh, I found out a lot of weird stuff, and we went down this hallway, and--” Olivia put her hand up to quiet Jess down. 

“I would love to hear what you’ve learned, and I’d like to share what I’ve found out as well,” Olivia breathed in, “but I am also getting tired. Why don’t we go to our room and we can talk there?”

“Oh, yeah, fine with me!” Jess turned to Aiden, Maya, and Gill. They needed a moment to tell Stella and Cassie what happened, he could come back down after he and Olivia were caught up.

As they headed towards the stairs, everyone gave quick goodnights and returned to discussing what had happened in the shrine.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Gill had hurriedly told the girls about what materials they found, while Maya was in the process of telling them about the empty room and what they had heard. Aiden was sitting on a bar stool and had placed the pouch of redstone dust on the table. He leaned back, trying to relax, but his whole body felt stiff. 

Those voices had to have belonged to Awakening members, barely anyone went anywhere near the shrines, even he and his friends rarely went to them unless necessary. 

‘Were they talking about the portal in the Shrine of Eyes?’ He asked himself, clenching and unclenching his fists.  
‘Or are they creating a new portal?’ 

Aiden heard footsteps from the second floor. Olivia and Jess, most likely. 

‘We’re gonna need to alert the guards, have them keep an eye on who’s going to the mines or acting suspicious--’

Another sound came from above him again, this time, a clattering sound. Aiden glanced at his friends who rather didn’t notice, or didn’t care, about the noise. 

‘What are they _doing_ in that room?’ Aiden thought, bringing his head to the ceiling as he listened to more footsteps.

The guest room was on the right side of the house.

His bedroom’s on the left.

His bedroom’s above him.

The noise was coming from his bedroom. 

Aiden scrambled off the stool and told his friends he’d be right back. He rushed up the stairs, his breaths becoming faster and shorter with each step, and opened the door. His eyes darted around. The window by his desk was open. He took a step in, scanning every inch of his room, thinking the intruder could still be inside, but then the world froze when his eyes landed on his bookshelf. 

Olivia’s hat. 

It was gone. 

He didn’t have to look out the window, he already knew who it was. He rushed out of his room--colliding with the wall--and ran down the stairs nearly tripping several times, and bursted out of the house, not giving his friends a second of explanation. 

He sprinted through the busy streets of the town, shoving whoever he couldn’t avoid out of the way. When was the last time he ran so fast the world had been reduced to streaks of colors, and the wind that rushed past him had muted all sounds? He can’t remember, but it doesn’t matter right now.

The instant his foot stepped through the entrance, his head whipped around, looking for any signs of the man. How Aiden wished the sun was still up; the light the moon and stars provided wasn’t enough.

Standing here panting wasn’t helping, he needed to start looking. Fast. Maybe the forest to Petra’s? Or maybe he could run along the town’s border and run into him. 

Aiden’s mind flooded with the possibilities of where he could go, but then he looked ahead and saw something--someone--in the distance straight ahead getting smaller and smaller.

‘Get him.’ Aiden’s mind commanded. 

He darted off, holding his breath as he got closer and closer to the man, soon being able to make out his red suspenders and dirtied, white shirt.

“JESSE!” He shouted, still running towards him.

Jesse turned around, a look of absolute repulsion was on his face. He held Olivia’s hat to his chest.

Aiden screeched to a halt and hunched over, taking in mouthfuls of air.

“Jess--” Aiden began, still heaving. 

“_Where did you find this?_” Jesse muttered, hugging the hat tighter.

“We--I found--”

“_WHERE?!_” Jesse barked, taking a step closer.

Aiden brought his eyes to Jesse, whose hands were shaking and pupils had shrunken.

Lie. He needs to lie. Say whatever he can to get her hat back. What would his friends say when they find out he let it get taken?

“Look,” Aiden started through heavy breaths, “that doesn’t matter. I need to--”

“_Doesn’t matter?_” He heard Jesse repeat in a sharp hush. Jesse stared at Aiden with his mouth parted, he was gripping the hat so hard his knuckles were turning white.

He dragged himself closer to Aiden, “_Doesn’t matter?_ _**Doesn’t matter!?**_”  
He kept repeating those sickening words over and over, getting louder and louder as he brought himself closer and closer to Aiden till he was practically screaming them into his ears. 

Jesse grabbed the collar of Aiden’s shirt and pulled him down to his face, locking onto him with his wild, bloodshot eyes.

“After what _I’ve_ been through…” Jesse’s voice was shaky, “You think _you_ deserve _her_ MORE!?”

Aiden’s jaw clenched. He could see the green of Olivia’s hat from the corner of his eye. His hand immediately shot out and grabbed a strap of the hat, holding onto it like his life depended on it. He tried pulling it closer to him, but he dragged Jesse along with it, who refused to let it slip his grasp. ‘Don’t rip it. Don’t rip it.’ Aiden told himself.

“You have everything Lukas owned, and you can’t let me have this one small thing?!” Jesse growled. His free hand was beginning to curl into a fist.

“Because I--” 

Jesse didn’t want to hear his sickening voice, “Because you _‘need’_ it! Because you and everyone else thinks you’re _so_ great! Because you’re _selfish_!”

Aiden couldn’t see Jesse’s fist flying towards him in the darkness until--

CRACK

Bright colors invaded one eye while the other could vaguely make out Jesse’s hand swinging back to his face. He didn’t have time to move, he could only squeeze his eyes and brace himself for the impact--

CRACK

Colors flashed, and despite not knowing whether his eyes were still closed or trying to adjust to the darkness once again, and his face burning to the point he thought it was melting off, he still held onto the hat. 

Don’t hurt Jesse. Don’t hurt him. Take the hat and go home.

He could feel anger flooding into Jesse’s body when he realized his grip wasn’t weakening.

“You just hate seeing me happy, don’t you?” Jesse hissed. He began scraping the heel of his shoe against Aiden’s leg, hoping to shred his skin off. He hated fighting Aiden. Hated it. Not only did he have to look at his miserable face, fighting him wasn’t nearly as fair as fighting Radar, or Stella, or Cassie.

“You know I wou--” 

Jesse began to pry Aiden’s fingers off the strap, bending each finger in unnatural angles. The strap was beginning to slip.

“You can’t stand not having any attention! It always has to be about you!”

“Jesse--” 

“Just like the day Olivia **died**!” 

“_SHE NEEDS IT BACK, JESSE!_” Aiden shouted. 

Jesse gasped and let go of the hat, causing Aiden to fumble back with it. 

“_Who?_” Jesse asked in a whisper.

What did he just say?

What did he just say? 

Why did he say that?

Why?

The world and all it’s sounds came to a stop. All Aiden could hear were those questions booming through his head, clashing with the sound of his pounding heart, and the blood rushing through his body. His eyes were stuck on Jesse, he was trembling from anger and impatience.

“_Who needs it back?_” Jesse asked again, still in a harsh hush.

“Stella.” Aiden lied, but he sounded so serious he could’ve fooled himself.

“Stella found it, and she wanted to keep it by Lukas’ stuff…” He wanted to add more, but he couldn’t think of anything else.

But he didn’t need to.

Jesse only nodded, his hands still fists, as he began walking backwards. His eyes were still piercing through Aiden as he stepped further and further away until he turned and ran through the field. 

Aiden watched as he grew smaller and smaller, and when he could no longer see any part of Jesse, he ran. 

Cold sweat rushed down his face as he bolted back to town, back to his friends, with only one question blaring in his mind:

_What did he just do?_


End file.
